Ode of a Puppeteer
by TheVillainofTheStory
Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

I've only written a few stories, and none of them have been posted yet, but this one is by far my favorite. Sasori is my favorite of all the Naruto antagonists, and because of that I believe my writing was at its best on this one. But enough of my blathering, go read the story.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Sasori is raising a little girl named Ryo. The kazekage doesn't think it's healthy for a little girl to only have a misanthropic murdering mastermind for a guardian.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Naruto and Sasuke would be a couple.

Ode of a Puppeteer

1

"Do I really have to do that?" the little girl whined up at her mentor. "Push ups with only one finger, a hundred each?"

The older ninja glared down at her. "Do you want to be a puppet master or not?" he demanded. "Finger strength. You need to build it up."

"But you don't do it," she pouted, crossing her arms defiantly.

Sasori's eye twitched in aggravation. "Ryo, do as I say. Just this once," he practically pleaded. He could tell that she wasn't going to give it up though. "I don't have to do it because I'm Sasori of the Red Sand, master puppeteer. You are just Ryo, apprentice to Sasori of everything I just said."

Ryo stuck out her tongue at him. "Fine, but I'm going to tell Granny Chiyo that you were being mean," she threatened. Well, as much as a six-year-old can threaten, anyway.

"You do that. I'll be back late, so do your push-ups and then go to bed," he ordered. Ryo opened her mouth to protest, but Sasori already knew what she was going to say. "Your dinner is on the table."

Ryo smiled up at him. "By Sasori," she hugged him tightly. "Come home soon."

Sasori smiled at her briefly before walking out the door. The cool desert air greeted him as he walked down the empty street. "Why did I take her in again?" he muttered to himself. The flashback began before Sasori could beat it back to the farthest corner of his mind.

_Sasori was standing on the wall that surrounded the city with twenty other ninja. A sandstorm was about to start, and the noonday sun beat down mercilessly on them. This hadn't seemed to bother the invading ninjas from the Land of Water, though. The enemy had retreated briefly, giving the Sand time to catch their breath._

_"Stay alert," he ordered the others needlessly. They knew what to do. Sasori pulled his puppet infront of him to examine it._

_A sudden whirring noise and then an explosion startled him. Several other Sand Ninja fell to the ground, dead. "Sasori, watch out!" a woman yelled. She jumped between a huge shuriken and Sasori, grabbing him and pulling him into a kind of hug. _

_"Mei!" one of the men yelled. "No!" He jumped and grabbed Sasori from the other side, yanking him out of the way again. It didn't matter though. A huge explosion killed what was left of that cell and most of the wall._

_When Sasori regained consciousness, he was half covered in rubble. And two dead ninja were holding him tightly between their bodies. "What the hell happened?" he asked no one in particular. Sasori didn't fail to notice that he was being held as he had always wished to be as a child._

_"Oh good. You're awake," cackled Granny Chiyo. She was sitting on a pile of shinobi near him. Sasori rolled his eyes. "That pair gave their lives to save you. The battle is over, and you have to explain to their little baby daughter why her parents aren't coming home." Chiyo laughed again._

_Sasori glared at his grandmother. "And because the same thing happened to me, I'm supposed to care?" he demanded as he stood up, roughly shoving away the arms of his saviors._

_Chiyo eyed him with amusement. "No. But I've talked to the girl. She's only three, but extraordinarily bright. She's already got me wrapped around her finger. I think that she'll do the same to you," snickered the old woman. Sasori rolled his eyes._

_That night he tracked down the little girl on Granny Chiyo's orders. "Ryo, your parents are dead," Sasori told the child bluntly. The little girl stared up at him with an annoyed expression. _

_"Everyone's told me that already. Granny Chiyo said that, Mr. Kazekage said it, and so did a bunch of other people. I get it," she snapped._

_Sasori glared at her. "Fine then. If you don't care about them, then I'm sorry I bothered you!" he half yelled. He twirled around, ready to storm out, when a little hand grabbed his. He looked down to see Ryo almost in tears. "What's wrong?" The kid was wearing on his nerves._

_"It's not that I don't care about my parents, 'cause I miss them. But I have a bigger problem," she whispered the last part. Ryo looked around, as though she thought someone was listening._

_"And what's that?" he sighed, kneeling down to be eye level with her. From out of the other room several little dolls walked out toward Ryo. She gasped and jumped up at Sasori, who caught her and stood up. "What?!"_

_"Make them stop following me!" she cried into his shoulder. _

_Sasori almost laughed, but he knew that the little girl would probably cry even more if he did. "You're the one controlling them," he said kindly. "You make them stop, they obey you."_

_Ryo glared at him through her tears. "I can't! Every time I touch something, it starts to follow me! I locked most of the stuff in my closet," she sniffed._

_Sasori then notice the thousand or so chakra strings attached to the poor girl. He put her back on the floor. "Here," he said. He made a pair of chakra scissors and cut all of the little threads. The dolls fell lifelessly to the floor. "See? They're gone."_

_"Thank you," she sniffed. "Granny Chiyo said that you would help me." _

_"She did?" he asked distractedly. The girl had talent, that much was obvious. And the only person who could teach her was, unfortunately, Sasori himself. "How would you like to come with me? I can show you how to do that," he pointed to the dolls, "And not have them follow you every where."_

_Ryo beamed up at him, her tear-streaked face looking like she had one the lottery. "Okay," she replied. Ryo grabbed Sasori's hand as they walked out. "What's your name?"_

_"I'm Sasori."_

Sasori shook his head. Ryo had wormed her way into his heart in a matter of minutes. It was disgusting. But she had needed him; still needed him, in fact. And as reluctant as he was to admit it, he needed her too.

Sasori rounded the final turn to the Kazekage's office not really looking where he was going. He walked into a wall, his face hitting it solidly. "Crap," he muttered.

"Watch where you're walking Sasori," Granny Chiyo cackled from behind him.

Sasori sighed inwardly. "Hello Granny," he replied pleasantly.

"And how is the prodigy doing?" she asked as they walked on. "I hope you aren't being too hard on her."

"Ryo is fine. And her skills seem to double on a daily basis," he answered shortly, but still politely. Sasori knew that Granny liked to have control of the conversation any way. It was a puppet master thing.

Chiyo smiled. "I would expect nothing less from your student. I was so shocked that day when she hugged me and I was bound with chakra strings. She was destined to be your pupil from the start," Chiyo declared happily.

Sasori eyed her suspiciously. "So it would seem," he agreed. They were climbing up the stairs now. Only a few more minutes of Chiyo's company and then he would be spared from whatever point she was trying to make.

"Try to be a little more enthusiastic about having her around Sasori," Chiyo sighed. Sasori stared at her, wondering where the usual Chiyo disappeared to.

Later that evening, after the meeting with the puppet corps, Sasori was about to go home when the Kazekage stopped him.

"Sasori, I would like to speak with you and your grandmother," he said, gesturing for Sasori to take a seat.

"What is this about, lord Kazekage?" he asked politely as he sat down next to Chiyo.

The Kazekage looked uncomfortable. "Well, it's about Ryo," he began. Sasori was instantly wary. "How has she been doing?"

"Very well," Sasori replied coolly. "Her mastery of puppets impresses even me."

"That's not what I meant," the Kazekage said with a shake of his head. "How is she interacting with the other children of the village?"

"Ryo doesn't like them in the least. She says that they are boring and not worth her time. I agree with her. The younger generation is a disappointment," Chiyo said, shaking her head.

The Kazekage sighed. "I was afraid of that. She doesn't interact with them at all?" he asked hopefully. Sasori and Chiyo both shook their heads no.

"What does this have to do with anything, Kazekage?" Sasori asked, trying to get to the point.

The Kazekage fidgeted in his seat. "A few people have voiced their concerns about her, and I agree. It isn't fair for a little girl to be cooped up all the time and not have any contact with children her own age. And when I heard that she wasn't attending the academy-"

"Of course she isn't going to the Academy," Sasori said rolling his eyes. "Why should she? I didn't."

The Kazekage stared at him for a moment. Chiyo was strangely quiet, but Sasori could tell that she was trying not to laugh. "Why not let her go to the Academy? She'd have friends, learn new things…" Sasori was already shaking his head.

"What could she learn there that I can't teach her better? She's a puppet master and that's all she's meant to be. Why teach her things that she will never need to know?"

"Because if you don't, we're taking her away from you," the Kazekage said sharply. Sasori gaped at him before regaining his composure.

"Surely we can come to an agreement?" asked Chiyo reasonably.

"I'm afraid not," the Kazekage said firmly. It was a daunting task ordering these two to do any thing (because if they didn't get their way, bad things happened), but he was warming to it. "If Ryo doesn't start interacting wit the other children, I'm taking her into the care of foster parents."

Sasori glared at the Kazekage. He opened his mouth to say something that would probably get him into a lot of trouble, but Chiyo stopped him. "We will try it, but if it hinders her puppetry in any way she will not go again," Chiyo stated calmly.

"She will go whether she likes it or not," the Kazekage growled. "Puppetry or no puppetry."

Chiyo began to say something else, but Sasori tuned her out. He began attaching chakra threads to various objects in the room, most of them fragile. Sasori made a vast web so that when the Kazekage walked into it, every fragile object in the room would fall to the ground and shatter.

"Ryo is to begin school the day after tomorrow," the Kazekage said. "That should give you enough time to convince her it will be worth her time." The Kazekage had talked with the little girl before, and Ryo scared him. She was like a little girl combined with the insight of an elder.

"There is not enough time in the world to do that," muttered Chiyo. Sasori smiled thinly. "As you wish, lord Kazekage. Sasori will send Ryo to the Academy."

The Kazekage looked nervous again. "Well, that was one of the other concerns," he began slowly, almost timidly.

"And what would that be?" Sasori asked boredly.

"That you are the main influence in Ryo's life. You are a great shinobi, Sasori, but you aren't a father," the Kazekage said, trying to be delicate.

Sasori stared at him. "Of course I'm not," he said indignantly. "I could never take the place of Ryo's father. I don't want to."

"Don't you think that not having a strong paternal and maternal presence is important for her development?"

"Some of the greatest shinobi grew up with no parents, Sasori included," Chiyo pointed out. "What brought this on, all these questions and such?"

The Kazekage opened his mouth to answer, but Sasori beat him to it. "It's because of your unborn daughter," he said, comprehension dawning on him. "Your wife is pregnant. All of this over reacting is-"

"Over reacting?" demanded the Kazekage. "The care of a child is of the utmost-"

Chiyo stood up suddenly, interrupting him. "I'm afraid we must be on our way. Ryo is home alone, and I have business to attend to. Good evening," she said smiling sweetly.

Sasori stood up and followed her out of the room without a word. Even after they had closed the door behind themselves, the Kazekage stared in amazement.

"They walked out on me," he muttered, half awe-stricken and half pissed off. The Kazekage stood up and stretched. As he turned to walk toward his desk, he felt a slight resistance in his movements.

Before he could stop, the thin chakra threads that Sasori had hung pulled every thing to the ground. Every award, picture frame, and potted plant fell to the floor with a sickening crash.

"Was that the sound of glass breaking I heard?" Chiyo asked her grandson as they walked down the hall away from the Kazekage's office. She didn't look angry, not that he expected her to. Granny looked pleased and as always, mischievous.

"Yes," he replied. Less is always more around her. "But you already knew that."

Chiyo cackled a little. "Of course I did. I was going to hoist him up in the air, but your way was much more subtle," she snickered. Subtlety isn't usually one of Chiyo's strong points, so it was better that Sasori had voiced their displeasure instead of her.

"What are we going to do?" he asked, his voice monotone. An impressive feat considering the panic he was in on the inside. There was no need to elaborate on the question; they both knew that he was talking about Ryo.

Granny sighed. "I'm afraid that we have to send her to school," she replied. The puppeteers cringed. Ryo wasn't going to like the idea of going to the Academy at all.

"She's going to use everyone there as a puppet, she can't help herself. The first person that looks at her oddly will be stuck on the ceiling," Sasori muttered darkly.

Ryo had a bad temper, and her guardian did nothing to help it. Not being a patient man himself, the two clashed often. You must think it's strange, a six-year-old little girl and a twenty-year-old puppet master having a verbal sparring match. Chiyo thought it was hilarious to watch. But Ryo wasn't a normal six-year-old.

"And maybe when the Kazekage realizes that, he'll stop this nonsense," Granny added. Then her voice took on that tone she had when remembering the old days. "Sending her to school for social skills. Bah! What an idiotic notion. You never went to the Academy a day in your life and you can run circles around every shinobi in the village. Back in my day the Academy never even existed."

Sasori rolled my eyes discreetly. Granny was stuck in the past. But she was right in the fact that his skills were infinitely superior to those of every other ninja in the village. It was nice of her to remind him of that every now and again.

Granny and Sasori parted ways infront of his apartment complex. Walking silently up the stairs, Sasori tried to avoid the notice of his fellow tenants. Sadly, he could not get by the one door he wanted to avoid most.

"Sasori!" a female voice squealed behind him. Nami. Of course his stalker had to be awake at this hour. "Do you want to come in for some tea?" she asked hopefully.

"No," he replied calmly. His voice was not nice, but not rude. It got the point across. She shrank back into her apartment and locked the door.

Sasori had a group of fangirls that tried to follow his every movement. They weren't any good at it, but they were annoying. Nami was their leader because she lived closest to him, but they were always trying to overthrow her. Crazy girls.

They adored Ryo, though. It was unfathomable as to why; she hated them. Sasori pondered it as he opened the door to his apartment. Maybe because she was small and cute. No, they didn't treat her like a doll. They piled her high with gifts and sweats and had her show them her puppetry. Ryo didn't like them simply because he didn't, but she let them think that she adored them. Sneaky little child.

The hall was dark, so Sasori slipped off his shoes carefully and tried not to trip walking into the kitchen. The light above the stove was on, so he could see that Ryo had eaten her dinner and put her plate in the sink. The cupboard above the stove was open though, and upon inspection it became apparent that she had helped herself to some cookies. Oh well. The price of having a house of puppeteers: chakra threads could do just about anything. Opening cupboards and getting down cookies was the least of Sasori's worries.

In the living room Sasori found Ryo asleep on the floor. She seemed to have fallen asleep while finishing her pushups. No, she didn't really need to do them, but he had to give her something to occupy her time with while he was gone. If he didn't, she got inventive.

Sasori knelt down next to her and gently shook her shoulder. "Ryo, I'm home," he whispered.

She didn't stir. Smiling to himself, Sasori picked her up and carefully as possible to avoid waking her. "Hmm," she groaned groggily. "Sasori?"

"Time for bed," he told her quietly. "It's late."

"I hate pushups," she whined sleepily. She snuggled into his arms. "The pudding in my fingers say that the fish don't have to do them." OKAY. 0.0

The puppet master chuckled a little. Ryo talked in her sleep a lot. "Well the pudding is right," he agreed with her. There really was nothing else that could be said.

The door to her room was closed, so he put Ryo down on her feet. Of course she didn't fall over you idiots. Sasori is a puppet master: he held her up with chakra strings, like a cute little puppet.

"Sleep well," he told her as he gently made her climb into bed. "Dream good dreams, Doll Baby." Sasori called her a doll baby for obvious reasons.

Sasori walked out of the room and down the hall to his own bedroom. It looked like the workshop had exploded onto the floor and bed. Puppet arms, legs, and torsos littered the floor. The desk was covered in bottles of poison and weapons, like kunai and needles. Shuriken were stacked haphazardly on the bedside table next to a doll that Ryo had made for him. And on the bed was his latest human puppet, only half equipped. Compared to Ryo's immaculate room (and compare she often did), Sasori's was World War Four. Home sweet home.

Shoving the half-ready puppet off his bed onto the floor, Sasori picked up the little puppet on the bedside table. Ryo had made it for him shortly after Sasori had taken her in as a thank you present. It was of a little girl with brown hair in a blue dress that had a painted on face. It was very blocky; the arms, legs, neck and torso were the only things that moved. No elbows, no knees, no internal mechanisms. But it was his favorite puppet of all.

"Dance Puppet Girl," he whispered. Sasori pulled the strings and she came to life. She spun around and took a bow before raising her arms to attempt a pirouette. Puppet Girl tiptoed down the bed to the footboard and hopped up on it, pretending to struggle with the climb up the edge. She then did a cartwheel into a back flip.

"Now take a bow," Sasori murmured. Puppet Girl bowed proudly to applause that was only really in their heads. She caught the imaginary rose Sasori threw to her and bowed one last time before flying back into his hand.

Sasori placed her gently on his nightstand. Ryo had gone out of her way to make Puppet Girl as simple as she possibly could. She told him that she had made a puppet version of herself for him. No weapons, no poison, and no complicated mechanics. It looked nothing like her, but Ryo said that was the point. Sasori still didn't understand what she meant by that, but oh well.

"I call her Puppet Girl, because that's what Granny says I am. I'm a puppet girl, and so is she," he said, quoting her words from long ago. Little did Ryo know that she had inspired Sasori to attempt his greatest puppet of all. Himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! Second chapter! Here's some random info that probably should have been put in the first chapter: This story at the moment takes place before Sasori leaves Suna. Ryo does not have a blood trait, she's just amazing. Also, this story was originally written in a different point of view and I went through and fixed it myself. If I missed something, please tell me.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo, Sasori, and Granny Chiyo go to meet Ryo's new teacher, who doesn't seem to realize that Ryo can run circles around her.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and we'd see Kakashi's face once and a while.

Ode of a Puppeteer

2

"SASORI!!!!" Ryo yelled as she jumped on her guardian's stomach. Sasori was still asleep in bed, and Ryo wanted breakfast. So waking Sasori was the only thing for her to do.

"Gah!" he gasped as she landed on his stomach. He sat bolt upright. "Ryo!" he yelled angrily upon seeing it was her that woke him up.

Ryo smiled sweetly at him, and he flopped back on his back where he had been before she had so rudely interrupted his slumber. "I'm hungry," the little puppeteer informed him, still sitting on his stomach.

"So I had assumed," he grumbled. "But it's seven in the morning. Can't you wake me up in an hour or two?"

Ryo shook her head no as she bounced up and down, still sitting on his tummy. "Nope. I'm hungry now. And it's 7:32 in the morning, so there."

Sasori groaned and grabbed a pillow to whap her with, but she hopped down off the bed before he could get her. Down the hall Ryo ran, looking for the only other inhabitant of the house. "Mouse? Here kitty kitty!" she called through the living room. "Mouse!" Yes, Ryo had a black cat named Mouse.

"Mmreow," the cat said as she slunk out from under the couch. Ryo ran her hand down the cat's back, attaching little chakra threads as she did.

"Come on Mouse, let's get Saso out bed," Ryo said as she led the cat down the hall. Sasori had given Mouse to Ryo as a kitten when she had first come to live with him. The poor cat was long accustomed to being led around like a puppet by the two puppeteers of the house.

Ryo walked as far as the doorframe to Sasori's room, then stopped. From there she had the cat hop up onto his bedpost, then onto his legs. Mouse began to purr and rub her face on Sasori's knee.

"Mouse!" he yelled, but the pillow over his face muffled his voice. With a few movements she had Mouse on his chest. Now for the fun part. Ryo moved her hands like she wanted Mouse to move her claws: that kneading motion that cats do when they go to sleep.

"Three, two, one," she counted under her breath with a smirk.

"AHHH!" Sasori yelled as he jumped out of bed. Ryo yanked Mouse out of the way before so that Sasori's flailing about wouldn't hurt her. "Fine Ryo! I'm up!"

"Yay!" the little girl squealed as she ran to the kitchen. Ryo set the table with two plates, forks, and glasses. From the fridge she pulled out the milk and eggs. She also grabbed out a whisk from a drawer and pulled the frying pan down from the rack where it was hanging using a chakra thread.

Seven minutes later, Sasori walked into the kitchen fully dressed but still not very awake. His red hair was tousled and his eyes were slightly bloodshot. Not from crying, but from being rubbed. "I assume you want scrambled eggs?" he asked, eyeing the ingredients on the counter.

"Yep," she replied happily from her seat at the table, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Fine," he sighed. "You go get dressed while I cook breakfast." Without another word he turned and got out a bowl to whisk the eggs in.

Hopping down from her chair, Ryo ran to her room. Unlike Sasori's room, hers was very neat. Ryo opened the closet and grabbed out one of her favorite outfits: light lavender capris and a dark purple kimono shirt sleeveless thingy with red embroidery. A quick change later and Ryo was admiring herself in the mirror, like any other normal six year old.

Ryo adored the way she looked. Her hair was very long and purple-red, pulled back into a braid that almost touched the ground. Her skin was very pale, but she liked it that way. It made her even more different. Not many people in Suna had pale skin, least of all pale skin that didn't sunburn. Her eyes were her favorite feature: they were a dark, brick red, almost like dried blood.

After admiring herself a bit more, Ryo skipped back out to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Sasori had her plate waiting on the table like always. Ryo inhaled her food, barely taking the time to chew it; she was hungry. Sasori stood infront of the sink quietly, barely eating his meal. He seemed to be thinking about something.

After eating all of her eggs, Ryo hopped down to put the plate in the sink. Since she was only six, her feet didn't quite touch the floor from her chair. She also had a stool infront of the sink so that she could reach the faucet. Sasori happened to be standing in her way of it.

"Sasori?" Ryo asked, poking him in the leg. "You're in my way."

"Hm?" he asked, distracted. "Oh, sorry Doll." He took the plate and put it in the sink for her. His words and tone were slightly off, like he was distracted and angry. Sasori only called her Doll when something was wrong.

"Sasori, what's wrong?" she asked, concern permeating her voice. Sasori snapped out of whatever reverie he was in and smiled down at his young ward, but it was a smile that was only really half there. "Is it Granny? Is she okay?"

Sasori chuckled and picked Ryo up off the floor. He sat her down on the counter next to him so that they were closer to being eye to eye. "No, Granny's fine. It's you actually," he answered with a lopsided and ironic smile.

That startled the little girl. "What did I do wrong?" she asked quietly, half panicked. "I did my push ups, and I ate my dinner. I fell asleep on the floor playing with mouse. I didn't mean to. And I'm sorry for waking you up this morning, I really am!" She was getting more frantic by the second. Ryo feared that if she wasn't perfect enough, Sasori would die like her parents did. Usually it wasn't a problem; she was one of those people who never seem to be able to do any wrong.

"Shh," Sasori soothed, patting her head gently. "It was none of that. It's nothing you did. It's what I did. You know the other children in the village? What do you think of them?"

Ryo thought that was a stupid question. "They're boring. I'd rather talk to you, or Granny, or even lame old Mr. Kazekage than them," she replied, pulling a disgusted face when she said Kazekage. Ryo didn't like the Kazekage; he was boring and wimpy, and he always treated her like she was ignorant.

Sasori smiled. "I just wanted to make sure. You see, Mr. Kazekage wants you to play with them more. So he's having me send you to the ninja school tomorrow," he explained.

Ryo laughed. "Is that all? I'll just tell him I'd rather not. He'll listen to me," she said confidently. No one ever disobeyed her. Bad thing happened when she didn't get her way, just like bad things happened to people who made Granny Chiyo and Sasori angry.

Sasori looked sad again, so Ryo grabbed his hand to try to comfort him. He smiled at her half-heartedly again. "If you don't go to ninja school, Mr. Kazekage said that he'll take you away from me and Granny. You'd get a new mommy and daddy and live far away from Granny and me. He said that he'd take your puppets too," Sasori explained. Ryo's expression was growing more horrified by each word he said. "And mine. You would go to ninja school every day and learn boring things from boring people. And when you were old enough, be stuck on a team with those boring people for the rest of your life. Your new parents would be so proud, but you and I would know that it was nothing to be proud of. That you're meant for so much more." He finished quietly, like he hadn't meant for most of that to be said.

"Why would I want new parents?" she demanded in a very outraged voice. A scowl graced her petite features. "The first ones got killed off, why would the next fair any better? How dare he say that!"

Sasori smiled at Ryo, looking very proud. "That's what I thought. But sadly, until he gets over this little power trip he's on, you have to go to the Ninja Academy."

"Power trip?" Ryo asked puzzled. That was a new term.

"It means that he doesn't like how strong you, me, and Granny are and since he's supposed to be in charge he's using that power to make us unhappy," Sasori explained patiently.

Ryo nodded in understanding. "Okay. I'll go to school. Will I learn anything?" she asked eagerly. To Ryo the only things more important than learning were Granny Chiyo, Sasori, and Mouse.

"Some things, I guess," he shrugged. Sasori helped the little prodigy down off the counter. "But not about puppets. I'm not really sure, I never went to the Academy."

Ryo sighed in disappointment. "All right," she said. "What are we doing today?"

"We have to go get you signed up at school and we have to talk to your teacher," Sasori answered. His tone said that he'd still rather not send his little Ryo to the Academy, but some things in life were unavoidable.

The two puppeteers headed out the door to the Ninja Academy. It was still really early in the morning, so not many people were around. They were fine with that; the less people to ogle at them, the better. The weather was already turning hot, but thankfully not humid. It was supposed to storm sometime that week, a rarity for the village, and Ryo couldn't wait. She had only seen rain once in her life.

"Did you all think that you would be going without me today?" an old voice asked from behind them. Sasori and Ryo turned around to see Granny Chiyo walking towards them, merry as a cantankerous old lady could be.

"Granny!" Ryo squealed happily as she ran up to her adoptive grandmother. She clamped her arms tightly around the old woman's waist in greeting. Sasori walked up as well and hugged her around the shoulders.

"Are you coming to the mean Ninja School with us? Will you be mean to them for me?" Ryo asked as she let go. Her expression was full of hope. Granny would make sure that Ryo would be left alone.

Granny laughed at her enthusiasm. "Yes, I'm coming. And I will be as mean as I need to be," she assured her favorite granddaughter. To Sasori she demanded, "Were you trying to ditch me?" They began walking again, Granny on the left, Sasori on the right and Ryo in the middle.

"No Granny," he replied innocently.

"Granny!" Ryo whined, remembering the night before and the pushups.

"What is it Baby Doll?"

Putting on her outing face, Ryo crossed her arms and glared up at her redheaded guardian. "Saso made me do pushups with only one finger last night while he was gone, a hundred on each finger!" she cried indignantly.

"Did he?" Chiyo asked, her tone making it clear she agreed with Ryo righteous fury. Granny usually did agree with Ryo over Sasori, just to piss him off and spoil her. Then again, Sasori usually agreed with Ryo over Granny for the same reason.

Sasori glared down at the pint sized puppeteer. "Yes, I did," he stated. "And you're better off for it."

Granny laughed. "And what would make you feel better about that, Baby Doll?" she asked. Ryo pretended to screw up her face in thought, but she already knew what she wanted.

"Ice cream," she replied firmly. Chiyo nodded in agreement, a happy gleam in her eyes that come from being able to spoil grandchildren. Sasori rolled his eyes, but they knew he wanted ice cream just as much as they did.

The three puppeteers stopped talking, as the village became more active. It didn't hold with the creepy mystique that they all had built to be laughing and hollering through the streets. People gave the three strange looks, like they were not happy to see the three together out and about. Being just a child, Ryo assumed that the looks were for Granny and Sasori only. In truth, people were wary of the cute little girl who could use any one and any thing as a puppet.

The school came into view soon enough. Classes hadn't started yet, so no one was around. They found the classroom Ryo was supposed to be in easily enough for none of them ever having been in the building. It wasn't very impressive. A desk infront, a chalk board, and long tables with chairs was all that decorated the room.

"Hello, you must be Ryo," a woman said from behind the desk. She looked like a superficially nice person. The lady stood up and walked over to greet them. "I'm Naoko Mihara, your teacher. I just want to talk with you really quickly, and then have you show me some of your talents."

Ryo hid a smile. She wanted to see talent? She'd get talent. "All right," Ryo agreed quietly, but still confidently. Ryo took a seat at the front table with Sasori on her left and Chiyo on her right. "What do you want to know?"

Naoko smiled down at the little girl. It was a slightly patronizing smile. "Well, not so much for you as for your Grandmother and guardian." She turned to Sasori. "What does she refer to you as?"

"Ryo calls me Sasori," he said without any inflection. "And if you have a question about Ryo, ask her, not me."

Naoko looked taken aback. "Yes sir," she replied submissively, bowing her head. Back to Ryo, she asked, "Ryo, how old are you?"

"Six. My birth day is November 8th," she replied. Ryo kept your voice low and quiet, sounding as bored as possible. She wanted to come off as the spoiled but sad little girl that the teacher so obviously thought she was.

"Good. Do you know any of the other children in the village very well?"

Making a disgusted face, Ryo replied truthfully, "No, they're boring. They never have anything interesting to say."

Naoko nodded, still smiling. "What do you do for fun? Do you have any hobbies?" she asked sweetly. Ryo snorted on the inside. As though she could be raised by the two most powerful puppet masters in the whole Wind Country and not enjoy puppetry as well.

"I have a cat," Ryo answered brightly. "Her name is Mouse. I like playing with her. And I love my dolls." You hedged around saying that you liked puppets. Making this interview difficult for the woman was turning out to be quite amusing for the little girl.

Naoko looked surprised. "Don't you like puppetry?" she asked.

"I thought this was the questioning time," Ryo pointed out. "You said that you were going to assess my skill levels afterwards." The quiet but confident tone that Ryo used was starting to make Naoko uncomfortable. Small children weren't supposed to be able to control the conversation like Ryo was doing.

Naoko racked her brain for something else to ask. "What about these," she finally inquired. From a messenger bag at her side Naoko pulled out several weapons. "Can you name these?"

Pointing to the objects in turn, Ryo rattled off their names. "Sai, kunai, shuriken, senbon needle, and katana." _'What, no tanto?'_ she wanted to ask.

"Very good," Naoko praised with a smile. It was fake praise, the kind that teachers give to kindergartners when they perform adequately. "I can't really think of any other questions, so why don't we go out to the training ground so you can show me your skills?"

"All right," Ryo replied with a sigh. More faking on her part; Ryo loved any chance to show off. Ryo stood up, and Granny and Sasori followed suit. "Lead the way."

Naoko nodded and walked out the door. As Ryo went to follow the teacher, a mischievous thought struck her. Making sure that Naoko didn't notice, Ryo grabbed the weapons off the table and quickly hid them on her person. Sasori nodded in approval, a small smile on his lips.

"So I want you to do that obstacle course as quickly as you can," Naoko informed Ryo sweetly. They were outside the school on what Ryo had always assumed was a playground. It was actually a testing area. It had monkey bars, a big pit with a rope, a pool of water with a wire running over it to walk across, and a balance beam. "GO!" Naoko shouted as she pushed the start button on the stopwatch in her hand.

Ryo sprinted to the monkey bars and hopped up to grab one. This was easy for her, so she took them two at a time. Ryo landed lithely and stuck it. The audience in Ryo's mind was clapping their applause. But wait! Ryo wasn't done yet!

The pit was only a foot deep and five feet across. Ryo didn't really need the rope, so she ignored it and sprang over the hole. Ryo hit the ground running, a smile on her face. The water pool was going to be fun.

_Time to be impressive,_ she thought. Instead of using the wire, Ryo ran right across the water all ninja like. She heard Naoko gasp and smirked in satisfaction. The finial obstacle, if it could be called an obstacle, was the beam. Ryo hopped up and flipped in mid-air, landing on the beam on her hands. Ryo proceeded to walk across it on her hands, her back perfectly straight.

After she flipped down, Ryo turned to Sasori, Granny, and Naoko and gave a grand bow. "How was that?" she asked sweetly as Naoko stared open mouthed. The stopwatch she had been holding was now on the ground.

Sasori stooped to pick it up. "Twenty seconds," he declared. "Not bad. Could've been better if you hadn't stopped to stick that landing," he added. Ryo stuck her tongue out at him.

"Shinobi have always had a flare for the dramatic," Granny disagreed lightly. "And it was a lovely hand stand."

Naoko still hadn't recovered from the young puppeteer's amazingness. "How-?" she gasped. "How did you do that? That's record breaking for any Academy Student!"

"Because I'm great," Ryo replied unabashedly. "What else do you want me to do?"

"Why don't you show me what you're really capable of?" Naoko asked narrowing her eyes suspiciously. Ryo smile. The young puppeteer couldn't resist a chance to show off her puppets. Not that she was going to show that boring teacher what she was really capable of, but Ryo did plan to have fun.

Glancing at Sasori, who nodded in agreement, Ryo pulled out a tiny scroll from a hidden pocket in her shirt. "Moth," Ryo muttered so that Naoko couldn't hear. In a puff of smoke, a tiny funny looking puppet appeared. It was about the size of a carrot and looked like a posing doll for drawing, except it had two extra arms and fluffy moth antennae.

Naoko looked at it suspiciously. "What do you intend on doing with that?" she demanded, backing up a step. Ryo smiled, baring all of her teeth.

Before Naoko could react, Ryo sent Moth over her head. A compartment in Moth's chest opened, and a fine dust fell on Ryo's future teacher. She sneezed once, then promptly fell to the ground asleep. And she would remain asleep for three days, if not given something to wake her up.

Ryo glanced smugly over at Granny, who cackled at what she had done. "Can we get ice-cream now?" Ryo asked as she skipped over to her grandmother's side.

"Yes, I think we can," she replied. Granny took Ryo's hand and they started to walk away with Granny telling her how marvelous she had done. "Come on Sasori, just leave her. Some one else can clean up," Granny called back over her shoulder.

Sasori smiled a little. "Once the Kazekage realizes how much of a handful she is, he is going to be begging me to take her away from this school just for the sanity of the teachers," Sasori muttered with self satisfaction.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Feel free to message me.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the third Chapter. Retrospectively, I could have had a lot more fun with this, but it's pretty good as is. Sasori gets to be overprotective in this one, which I think is cute.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo attends her first day of class, Sasori is unhappy, and the possibility to make friends is slightly enticing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and the Third Hokage's death would have been more dramatic and less time consuming.

Ode of a Puppeteer

3

"Are you ready yet Ryo?" Sasori called from just outside her door. Sasori was more anxious about Ryo attending school than she was. It was actually quite amusing. The day before, after the strange little family had gotten ice cream, Granny left to attend to some errands. After making her promise to come visit at the apartment that night, Sasori and Ryo had gone to the library.

When they arrived at the apartment Granny was already inside waiting with a smile and some bags. She had bought Ryo all new clothes for school. The rest of the evening had been spent with a fashion show.

"Coming Sasori," Ryo replied happily as she opened the door. The girl was excited to be going to school. Sure it was going to get real boring, real fast, but why not enjoy the ride? It's not like Sasori ever did anything fun or exciting. This was something to break up the monotony.

"No need to look so happy," Sasori grumbled. Ryo looked up at him quizzically. "I'm serious. You look like you think this is going to be fun."

Smiling up at him briefly, Ryo continued down the hallway to grab her bag from the kitchen. She Knew Sasori would follow. "Because it's going to be a lot of fun," she assured him. "At first anyway. After a few days the novelty will wear off and I'll have to go to the Kazekage and demand to be left alone."

Sasori gave his young ward a funny look, one she didn't quite understand. "Are you sure that you're six years old?" he asked as they headed for the door. "You say the strangest things. Things that six years olds just don't, like big words and complex sentence structures and such."

Ryo walked out the door and down the steps without a word, contemplating what Sasori had said. _Do I really do that? Is it a bad thing? Maybe that's why I only have Sasori and Granny to talk to. I'm too weird for the other kids my own age._

The walk to school was silent. Sasori could tell that he had upset the young girl in some way, but he couldn't figure out how. The stupid school was coming into sight. Children were rushing into the building, trying not to be late. And failing at it. As the two puppeteers neared the door, the bell rang.

Without a word, Sasori opened the door for Ryo. She walked passed him with a nod of her head in thanks. Ryo thought Sasori was going to leave her there, but instead he followed her all the way to the classroom.

Sasori slid the door open silently, obviously wanting to make a dramatic entrance. The class gasped in fear and surprise. Naoko whipped her head to see what had startled the students, and her eyes widened fractionally as well. They were all looking at Sasori, Ryo. Not many people saw him out and about. Their parents had probably even used the threat, '- or Puppet Master Sasori will get you!' at one point in their lives, like he was the boogey man.

"Class, this is our new student, Ryo, and her guardian Akasuna no Sasori," Naoko explained. She didn't look happy to see Ryo and Sasori, not she could be blamed for that. Puppet masters were an acquired taste.

With a quick glance at Sasori, Ryo walked calmly over to an empty seat near the back of the room that had no other students near it. Putting her bag down at her feet, Ryo lightly took her seat. Sasori nodded at her once from the door, then walked away.

As soon as the door closed, the other kids started whispering. "Is that really her?" "Was that him? The one mommy was talking about?" "She's scary." "He looked meaner than I thought. I'd hate to make him mad!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Naoko bellowed. The rest of the class quieted down instantly. "You all obviously have something to say, so why don't we start today off with an essay?" The class groaned collectively.

_Wow this lady is a pain._ "It's quite alright, Naoko. They have a right to be curious about my family and I. Would it be all right if I introduce _myself_," she stretched out the word, making it clear that she didn't need the teacher to speak for her. Naoko was trying hard not to glare. "And if they have any questions they can ask me?"

Naoko fought the urge to say something scathing, but a subtle point to a puppet scroll on Ryo's desk quickly removed her hesitance. It was replaced by fake cheerfulness. "Why not?" she replied. The other children, or at least most of them, didn't notice the exchange.

Standing up so that the other students could see her clearly, Ryo began, "My name is Ryo. I was raised by Akasuna no Sasori and my grandmother Chiyo. I'm sure that we will all get along very well," she assured them with an almost sincere smile. _And by get along, I mean that you will either do as I say or stay away from me._ "Does anyone have any questions?"

Silence. Ryo's classmates were looking around at each other nervously, like they all had a question but were too nervous to ask it. Ryo sighed, slightly hurt by their fear. _So that's how this is going to be._

Just as the littlest puppet master was about to sit back down, a girl shot her hand up. The poor thing look shocked to see her own hand in the air, but went with it any way. "Are you going to control us like puppets?" she managed to stutter out.

Ryo smiled, suddenly truly at ease instead of pretending to be. "Like this?" she asked with a grin. A flick of the wrist and Naoko was on top of her desk. Ryo moved her fingers absently as she spoke to the girl. "What's your name?"

"Kei," the girl replied, slightly awestruck as Ryo made Naoko dance on her own desk. Naoko looked furious. Ryo was enjoying herself, as were the other students. "How can you do that?" Kei asked, awed at the simple show.

"Practice and natural talent. And no, I won't do this to any of you, unless you make me very angry," she assured them with a calming smile. The classroom burst into applause as Ryo made Naoko do a handstand.

Another girl raised her hand. "I'm Fuyu," she stated. "Is Sasori evil?"

Ryo couldn't help but laugh at the serious expression on her face. They actually thought he was evil. "No, he isn't evil. He took me in after my parents were killed. He's really nice," she told them, trying to be truthful on the last part. Sasori was a real pain sometimes, but Ryo loved him like the family she had lost. Finally, Ryo put Naoko back on the ground behind her desk.

"Ryo, you're new, so I'll let that slide this time," Naoko said like she was giving the puppeteer some great gift. _Let it slide this time? You have no idea who you're talking to._ "But that isn't allowed in class. Now today we will be learning about…"

"Hey Ryo!" one of the girls from earlier called over to Ryo from under the shade of a tree. Fuyu, that was her name. "Do you want to sit with us?" she asked shyly. No one could say no to that hopeful face. Nodding in assent, Ryo walked over to the large tree where most of the other students were eating lunch.

"Guys, this is Ryo," Fuyu said with a flourished gesture at Ryo. Ryo smiled at them. They smiled timidly back.

"Hi," she waved, trying to make them at ease. It worked somewhat; they relaxed a little. Sitting down between Fuyu and another boy, Ryo began pulling out her lunch. _What did Sasori pack…_ An apple, a brownie, a sandwich, and a juice box. Yummy. You looked up to see if anyone wanted to trade lunches and saw that they were all staring. "Yes?"

"They didn't think that you'd really sit here with us," Fuyu explained. It wasn't n illogical thought, so Ryo couldn't very well be angry. She had expected them to be curious about her. The Puppet Master's Protégé, associating with them at last.

"It's all right," she assured them. They all sighed in relief. Ryo had been doing more reassuring and calming that day then she had ever done in her whole life. "So what are your names?"

They each said their names in turn. Fuyu, Kei, Baki, and Kenji. "What's your favorite color?" Kei asked after they had all been introduced.

Ryo paused briefly before answering. "Purple and red," she replied cautiously. No one had ever asked her that before. It was a strange question.

"That's neat!" Kei squealed. "I like green." She seemed to Ryo like a person who would like green: calming, quiet, and shy.

"Do you have any pets, Ryo? I have a dog. His name is Scruffy," Baki said proudly. Ryo smiled at his pride. It was interesting.

"I have a cat," Ryo informed them. "Her name is Mouse. Sasori gave her to me when I first moved in with him." They looked startled for a moment when Sasori was mentioned, but then they smiled.

"Is she cute?" Fuyu asked. "I have a cat too. Her name is Souppy. She's a gray cat."

"Mouse is really cute," Ryo told them. As though there was such a thing as an ugly cat. "She's black with green eyes."

That was how the rest of the day was spent. Talking with four children about anything and everything under the sun. Naoko didn't look very happy about the fact that Ryo had made friends. _Well she'll just have to deal with it._

"SASORI I'M HOME!!!!!" Ryo yelled as she burst through the door dramatically. Sasori glanced up from the book he was reading briefly, then rolled his eyes and went back to his book.

"And what did you do today?" he asked in a bored tone. "Anything remotely interesting?"

Ryo stuck her tongue out at him and kicked off her shoes. "I made Naoko dance on her desk," Ryo informed him with a wicked grin. Sasori snorted lightly. "Oh, and I made some… what's that word again?"

"Enemies?"

"No, the opposite of that," she replied. Walking into the kitchen, Ryo used the thread she always had attached to the cabinet to pull down the box of cookies. Ignoring the information the chakra wanted to give her, she shoved three chocolate chip cookies in her mouth.

"Friends?"

Ryo smiled, crumbs all over her face, and swallowed. "Yeah, those. They want me to come play with them during the thunderstorm this week. Apparently they have a game they play in the rain. So can I go with them?" Ryo secretly hoped he would say yes, but if Sasori knew that lord only knew what he would do.

"Why not," he sighed. Ryo hid a squeal of delight. Friends, other than Sasori and Granny! Going somewhere without the two puppeteers! No such thing had ever been done. Maybe the whole school concept wasn't too bad after all.

I feel the need to clarify this: when Ryo uses her chakra strings, they tell her everything about what she is controlling. It scares her, so she closes her mind to that connection.


	4. Chapter 4

The forth chapter is my personal favorite. This is he last chapter with Ryo as a little girl. The next chapter and all the ones that follow it will be set during Shippuden. WARNING: sort of kind of almost rape

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo goes to play with a friend and doesn't come home. Sasori searches for her, angrier than a mother bear. The Kazekage makes life unbearable. Retaliation is fun.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Kisame would talk like Jabberjaw.

Ode of a Puppeteer

4

The long awaited day had finally come. Dark clouds had been moving in since that morning, and finally, at four in the afternoon, the storm started. The only warning was a crash of thunder, and then suddenly the downpour began. Ryo squealed in delight.

"Sasori!" Ryo ran down the hall to the study where Sasori was currently modifying a puppet. "The storm's here!"

Sasori glanced up briefly from the puppet. "So I hear," he replied slightly condescendingly.

Ryo glared at him. "Sasori, you said that when the rain came I could go play with Fuyu, Kei, and Baki!"

"So I did," he sighed. Sasori stood up from the desk and stretched, various joints popping from lack of movement. "Is there any chance I can convince you to stay home?"

"Nope!" she grinned cheekily at him. "Let me go change and we'll go!"

Dashing out of the study and into her room, Ryo began the delightful task of picking out an outfit. Granny had been ecstatic when she found out that her favorite granddaughter had friends. The news that there was to be a rainy day play date meant only one thing: new clothes designed specifically for the rain. They had oil in them that made them not get soaked, the water just ran off.

Ryo pulled on a black silk shirt and pants, admiring herself in the mirror. The shirt was embroidered with gold thread to have little clouds and lightning all over it and she absolutely loved it. Her long purple-red hair was held back by a yellow headband with a yellow bow to the side. After a few more moments of admiring herself, Ryo dashed back out to the living room where Sasori waited oh so patiently.

"Ready!" she chirped happily. Sasori glanced down at his young ward as he fastened his cloak and rolled his eyes. "What?" she demanded, jutting out her chin and pouting.

Sasori chuckled and continued with his cloak. "Yellow looks horrible with your hair and your grandmother spoils you too much." Ryo stuck her tongue out at him and marched out the door leaving him to follow in her wake.

"Yes Sasori, I promise I'll be fine," Ryo laughed. Sasori was more apprehensive about her going out into the rain to play with her new friends than she was. Sasori was being more apprehensive than Ryo a lot these days. Granny would only allow her to go after being promised that Ryo would have more than just Moth with her; Sasori wasn't as easily swayed.

Sasori had been acting strange. Knowing he was overprotective and seeing it in action were two different things. It was like he didn't know what to do with himself without Ryo around. He seemed afraid that something horrible was going to happen without him around, and it only made it worse when Ryo came home happy.

"Well, be home before ten," Sasori sighed. The puppeteers were standing infront of Fuyu's house. Sasori turned to go with unhappiness obvious in his movements. Ryo rolled her eyes and tackle-hugged him from behind.

"Thanks Sasori," she squealed. She could tell he had rolled his eyes in reply. It was a habit Ryo had picked up from him.

He stepped out of her little grasp. "Be careful," he said quietly, then walked off into the rain.

Ryo hopped up to the door and knocked. A loud crash and several muffled expletives later, the door was flung wide open to reveal a woman who looked vaguely similar to Fuyu only older. "You must be Ryo," she smiled. "I'm Fuyu's mother. Fuyu has told me so much about you! Come in, please," she gestured for her to enter the warm house.

Ryo smiled and walked in, not failing to notice when the woman glanced around outside. Looking for Sasori, no doubt. "Did you walk here alone?" she asked worriedly.

As though Sasori would allow her anywhere without him. "No, Sasori left right before I knocked," you assured her, grinning on the inside. The mother seemed to relax.

"Ryo!" Fuyu squealed. She ran in and tackled her friend. Both fell on the floor, laughing. "We're meeting Baki in the square, come on!" Fuyu hauled Ryo back to her feet and they both ran out the door.

"Be careful girls!" her mother yelled as they ran out into the rain. Ryo rolled her eyes as she and Fuyu continued running. Like anything bad happened in Suna. Least of all to one in the care of Sasori and Chiyo.

Ryo and her friends played until late that night. The rain showed no signs of stopping, so they had made plans to meet again and play some more the next day after breakfast. Lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the road for a moment as the young puppeteer walked home.

Ryo was exhausted. And hungry. Hopefully, Sasori had dinner ready at home. Something warm, like soup. That would be nice…

In her drowsy state, Ryo failed to notice the two ninja waiting in the alley ahead of her. "Wha-" she gasped right as one of them knocked her unconscious.

Sasori sat at home in a very foul mood. Without Ryo to entertain him, he was very bored. And, as loathe as he was to admit it, he missed her. She made him happy. Ryo was the only family that he had who wasn't absolutely CRAZY.

Growling unhappily, Sasori glanced at the clock. Ten at night? Ryo should have been home long before that. She promised she'd be home by seven.

A feeling of unease coiled into the puppet master's stomach. Ryo was all right, she had to be. She had skill, not to mention that he had given her _that_ puppet. Their favorite. Ryo had to be okay…

Sasori leapt up from his chair and dashed out the door, only pausing to grab a puppet scroll.

Ryo drifted hazily in and out of consciousness for the next hour or so. All she could tell was that she was being carried, unbound, over a man's shoulder. Suddenly, she was dropped on the ground. A ratty mattress saved her from an unpleasant landing.

"Nice one," one of the men said, lust in his voice. But Ryo was too young to know what that sounded like. _What the hell is going on?_ "She's a pretty little thing. Never seen her around before. Who is she?"

The other man chuckled. It sounded wrong. "I don't know. But I can tell we're going to have fun with her," another chuckle, "There's no way she's training to be a shinobi. No calluses. Not going to be much fight in her."

Both men chuckled again. During the whole exchange, the young girl had been feigning unconsciousness. Ryo wasn't quite sure what was happening, but she had a feeling that it wasn't good. That was reinforced when one of the men started to take her shirt off.

Sasori ran frantically through the streets, looking for Ryo. He had stopped by her friends' houses, but to no avail. She was no where to be found. Red Ant, Black Ant, and Crow clacked wickedly behind him as he ran.

As he dashed down a side street, he noticed a yellow headband sticking out of the mud. Footprints were squished into the mud near it. Two men. Sasori narrowed his eyes. Had Ryo been caught off guard? He resumed his running, looking for signs of where they had taken his precious Ryo.

Ryo sat fearfully pressed up against the wall on the mattress as the two men bickered _good-naturedly_ about what to do with her. Forced oral? Double-team her? What the hell did those mean?

They had already stripped her down naked. Then they had **touched** her. Her chest and stomach only, thankfully. But she had a feeling they wanted to touch somewhere else.

"We can play with this one for a while," one argued. "Let's take our time."

"Fine, but I get her first," the second snapped. He grabbed Ryo and shoved her onto her back. He pried her legs open. That was too far. Ryo started squirming and screaming. "Shut up, brat!" he hissed.

Ryo snapped. No one, not even Sasori, called her brat. She concentrated her chakra to her feet and kicked the man back into the opposite wall. He hit it with a satisfying thud, and Ryo heard the air forced from his lungs.

The other man stared at Ryo open mouthed. "How-" he started to demand, but Ryo hauled both men up into the air with chakra threads she had previously attached. A string of expletives poured from both their mouths. "Who the hell are you!" he yelled. She forced back the connection the threads wanted her to open; no one should have to know those two that intimately.

Ryo glanced at her captives as she put her clothes back on. Her headband was no where to be found, but that was the least of her worries. "I'm Akasuna no Ryo," she replied calmly. The two men looked suddenly very afraid.

Ryo walked out of the room they had her in out into the rainy Suna night, towing the shinobi behind her. "Where are you taking us?" one of them demanded. He tried to sound filled with bravado, but the fear still made his voice squeak.

"To Sasori," she replied simply. She glanced back at them disdainfully. "Hopefully he'll kill you."

The shinobi gulped and looked at each other. Then they started screaming. "Shut up!" snapped Ryo as she looped chakra around their mouths like a gag.

A familiar whir-click could be heard over the rain. Crow, Black Ant, and Red Ant flew into view, followed by a panting but angry Sasori. Fury rolled off him in waves.

"You are never leaving my sight again," he spat harshly at Ryo. The puppets clacked in agreement. Sasori strode over to Ryo and pulled her up into his arms. Ryo yawned into his shoulder and handed him the strings that held her two captives/captors.

"I WANT THESE SCUM KILLED NOW!" Sasori yelled. His face was flushed and his eyes were hectic with worry and anger. Ryo slept peacefully in his arms.

The Kazekage sat behind his desk, visibly perturbed. "Sasori, I'm sure that you're over reacting. These men are sick in the head. They need help, not the death penalty," he tried to reason.

Sasori was having none of that. "They need removed from society permanently," the puppet master snarled. The Kazekage was sure that, had Ryo not been in Sasori's arms, the puppet master would be inflicting irreversible physical damage to him.

"Sasori, you need to calm down," he said, holding his hands up in a peace gesture.

Sasori jerked to his feet, still holding Ryo. "You need to be a bit more angry. Two of your shinobi almost raped a little girl. Not just any girl, but Ryo. MY Ryo. Your adoptive niece. And you aren't going to have them punished? Granny was right, this city has been rapidly declining," he said harshly. His chest was heaving in anger, and Ryo stirred.

"Saso?" she asked groggily. "Are they dead yet?"

Sasori smiled with no humor. "No, Ryo. Mr. Kazekage won't let them be killed."

Ryo yawned. "Then hurt him," she mumbled against his neck. "I want those two dead."

The Kazekage stared at her, stricken. "Ryo, those men are sick. They need help, not punishment. Surely you can understand that, even if your guardian can't," he pleaded.

Ryo looked up at him, her eyes clearing. "They kidnapped me, stripped me naked, and touched me. And _enjoyed_ it. They knew what they were doing. So no. I won't be sympathetic," she growled. In a different tone she added, "If you don't want to kill them, I'll do it for you."

Silence reigned for several minutes as the Kazekage processed all that Ryo had said. Finally, he came to a conclusion. "Ryo, I'll have your thing brought here. You're no longer staying with Sasori. He's warped your young mind with evil and can't be trusted to raise a child."

Ryo gasped. "You can't take me from Saso!" she screamed. Sasori patted her back soothingly.

"Go to hell, Kazekage. Ryo is my ward. Just try to take her from me," Sasori hissed. His eyes narrowed in challenge.

The Kazekage stood up and called another shinobi into the room. "Release the two that Sasori brought in," he ordered her coldly.

"But sir!" she gasped. "They almost raped-"

"I am Kazekage!" he yelled in frustration. "You will obey me! No one else! Do not question me!" He sounded like a petulant child.

The woman nodded and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Sasori stared at where she had just stood, not believing it. Release them?

"Come on Ryo," he said. Still carrying his protégé, Sasori walked swiftly out of the room. He moved with purpose, but what that purpose was the Kazekage couldn't tell.

"Get back here!" the Kazekage yelled. No one replied.

"Sasori, where are we going?" Ryo mumbled into the shoulder of her guardian. Rain pelted them as they ran through the empty streets of Suna. Ryo was so tired she could hardly stay awake.

Sasori slowed to a stop. "We're going to find them and kill them. Then we're running away from here. I have our stuff packed away in scrolls already, all of it. We'll go far away where no one will try to separate us," he assured her. She smiled into his shoulder.

"Okay," she chirped sleepily. "I think that they're where I lost my headband."

Without another word, Sasori ran in that direction.

"We have to get out of here man," one of the men wheezed as they panted for breath. "Sasori will kill us."

"No, he'll do much worse," the other man said, gasping for air. "My lungs are on fire!"

"We just need to get out of Suna for a while," the first man paused for breath again. "Before Sasori and Ryo find us."

"Too late," the sweet voice of a little girl said from the shadow of a nearby alley. Ryo stepped out of the dark just as lightning flashed. Blue strings could be seen from her fingers.

"Far too late," Sasori agreed as he stepped out of the dark behind them. Beside him floated a puppet. A puppet that looked familiar…

"That's the Third!" one of the men gasped. The other man looked faint. Trapped between two puppet masters with a vendetta against them was a death sentence and they knew it.

Ryo giggled. "No one ever notices my puppet with him around." Another puppet flew toward them. It was a woman with long green hair and eyes the color of blood mixed with wine. Ryo flicked her wrist. The she-puppet lifted her hand and held it steadily toward the first man. He exploded in a shower of blood.

The other man screamed. But not for long. The Third flew at him and cleaved him in two effortlessly.

The puppet masters returned their puppets to scrolls. Ryo collapsed on the ground, finally too tired to move any more. Sasori ran over and whisked her up into his arms.

"Ryo, it's all right. I'm here, sleep now," he whispered in her ear.

"Hmm," she groaned. "Night, Saso. I love you." The last part made Sasori stop in his tracks and his jaw drop in surprise. It was understood, but she had never said it before.

"I love you too, Ryo," he said softly. He started walking again. Thankfully they were close to the gate. Because of the rain, no one was on guard.

Thunder rolled and lightning flashed as Sasori walked out of the gate of Suna, hopefully never to return.


	5. Chapter 5

From this chapter on, the story will be set during Shippuden. This is just a random chapter that does little to further the plot, but I think it's cute.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo plays ditz, Sasori yells at Deidara, and Itachi notices too much.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Naruto would have better control over Kyuubi.

5

"RYO!!" an angry voice called from the ground. "GET BACK HERE!!!" Ryo simply laughed off the order and stayed where she was, which happened to be laying on her back watching a storm roll through on the top of a huge plateau. She could see for miles around above the trees of the forest. Ryo ran a hand through her long purple-red hair and laughed softly to herself. Kisami was going to kill her when she came back, and then Itachi would kill him for not keeping a closer eye on her.

Almost two decades had passed since Sasori had taken Ryo out of Suna. Two long decades filled with hard work and a lot of moving about. Sasori had heard rumors of the Akatsuki while they traveled those first few years, but had no opinions on them. It wasn't until they sought him out that he joined. And they let Ryo come with him, because Itachi had developed a soft spot for the nine-year-old girl.

Ryo had changed from her cute, six-year-old self. She now looked to be twenty, but that was because that was how old she was when she became a puppet. She was tall and thin, like a willow branch and just as graceful. Her long purple-red hair hit her right behind the knees, with wispy bangs that fluttered infront of her observant red eyes. Her face was slightly sharp in its features, like the nose and chin. All in all, a pretty picture.

"I wonder if Sasori and Deidara are back from wherever they went yet," she pondered aloud. Ryo sighed wistfully. Deidara was a funny little character. No one else could have thought of explosions as art. "They better have brought me something back."

Lightning blazed across the dark sky. The wind picked up, bending the grass down as it whistled across the field. Ryo groaned, then sprang to her feet in a single lithe motion. She trudged over to the side of the plateau and looked down. Sure enough, there was Kisame, yelling and pacing like a cartoon character. Ryo stepped off the ledge and fell head-first toward the ground, 200-ft. away.

At the last possible second she flipped right side up and landed without a jolt infront of the shark-man. He was unimpressed. "Itachi is going to kill me for losing you, and then Sasori is going to kill me again. Can't you do as your told?"

Ryo shrugged and walked passed him. "That would make me predictable," she replied. If they hurried, they would make it back in time to greet Sasori. Ryo quickened her pace.

"Trust me, you could never be predictable," Kisame grumbled. He jogged to catch up with the puppeteer.

The two walked in silence for a while, simply enjoying the storm. The only sound to be heard that wasn't nature was Ryo's laughter, bubbling up with the thunder. Crystalline drops of water fell to the ground, pooling to make little mirrors. All the animals had taken shelter from the storm. It was peaceful.

All too soon the Akatsuki hideout came into view. A huge, dull gate into the side of a mountain that offered little view to the outside, the Akatsuki base made Ryo droop. Without Sasori, Itachi, and Deidara to keep her amused, Ryo became very bored.

"Itachi wanted you to come and play chess with him in the living room," Kisame said, almost seeming to read her mind about boredom. "Tobi is making lunch. He's obsessing over American food, so gods only know what we'll be eating."

"American food isn't that bad. You're just unhappy that we aren't having sushi," Ryo said playfully. Kisame glared at her. Ryo laughed again. Kisame wasn't too bad to talk with, so long as he wasn't under orders to watch her every move.

"Check," Ryo said. Itachi sat across the coffee table from her on the sofa, a chessboard between them. It was their fourth game, Itachi had won two and Ryo one. Sasori and Deidara still weren't back, but that wasn't unexpected. Iwa was a long way away.

Itachi surveyed the move coolly. "So it is," he said. "And now it's not." He moved his king out of the way. "Where were you this morning?"

"A storm was rolling through. I went up to the top of the plateau to watch it. You should have seen it Itachi. The sky is as dark as obsidian, and the lightening was purple like amethyst. Then the rain started to pour, like diamonds falling from the sky. It was beautiful," Ryo sighed dreamily and stared out the window. Storms were her favorite thing in the world. She moved one of her rooks.

Itachi chuckled at her antics. "I suppose it comes from living in Suna," he mused. "We got quite a bit of rain in Konoha, so I'm much less impressed." He took one of her pawns.

Ryo snorted. "Itachi, it could be that you are just not easily impressed. Remember when Deidara brought that HUGE twelve-foot slug back from the forest? You said, 'Get the slime up by the time I'm back,' and walked out," she said. She moved a knight. "Or the first time everyone saw Sasori without Hiruko on? You called him a red-head twerp and kept walking."

Itachi observed her for a time. Ryo stared right back into his eyes, a brave move. But she was used to Itachi's intent study of all things around him. "I suppose you're right," he conceded at last. Ryo did a little happy dance on the floor. "But," he continued. The dance stopped. "It's not impossible."

Ryo rolled her eyes. "I never said it was impossible, just very difficult," Ryo qualified impatiently. An idea struck her. "And knowing you, you have a list of the handful of people who have impressed you." She poked him under the table with her foot.

"And if I do?"

"Then I want to hear it, obviously," she practically ordered. Ryo looked up expectantly at the Uchiha. He actually looked uncomfortable. It was cute.

"Fine," he sighed, holding the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "The list is as follows: my brother and Naruto Uzumaki, whom you don't know, Sasori, a woman from Iwa named Sumiko-"

"A woman, huh?" Ryo wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"And you," he finished. Ryo stared at him open mouthed. Itachi ignored her and moved one of his pieces. "Check."

Ryo cleared her throat. "And what have I done to impress the great Itachi Uchiha?" she asked as nonchalantly as she could. Her mind was reeling. She had made it a point not to be impressive since that Akatsuki took her and Sasori in.

"Sasori told me the basics on how to turn into a puppet. The amount of pain and the chance for failure. Yet you did it here in a single night without crying out once. That takes skill. I'm not sure if I could do it," Itachi admitted. Ryo hid her shock, along with her urge to say duh. Shock that Itachi admitted he couldn't do something. The other because only a puppeteer such as Sasori and herself could do it. Only puppeteers who could use some one else's abilities.

"I also know that you have been pretending to be an air-headed average-talent girl who hero-worships her 'master," Itachi continued. Ryo grimaced. She had always assumed Itachi would figure it out. "Sasori is no more your master than he is mine. And you are most likely even more skilled than he is."

Ryo sighed. It was a good thing that people left the room when they started to play chess. "You're right. I'm not an airhead. I'm damn good," she dropped her sweet voice that she used around every one but Sasori. "When did you first suspect I was a bit more?"

Itachi leaned back from the coffee table and looked to the ceiling. "When Pain and I found you two in the cave," he began, seeming to be in another world. "Sasori had jumped up from the ground and pulled three puppets from nowhere, ready for combat. You were already up hands splayed, thin chakra threads everywhere in the cave. You had even attached some to Pain and myself. You could have toppled that cave and killed us all."

"Not all," Ryo disagreed. "Sasori and I would have lived. He was in Hiruko and I had… well I have my ways," she finished with a grin. Itachi had noticed all of that. It was impressive. Not good for her, but impressive.

"I'm sure you do," he agreed. "And I assume you have a reason for acting like a ditz. So until you behave as you truly are, Kisame will guard you." Itachi's eyes had a wicked glint in them. He was amused at this. "I thought we told you not to go any where."

"ITACHI!" Ryo exclaimed. That was a waste of Kisame's time, and completely unnecessary. Surely Itachi could see that.

"My word is final," he said, steel in his voice. He obviously had no experience in dealing with the real Ryo. Mountains gave way before she did.

Ryo rolled her eyes. "Itachi, please. I can handle myself. If I can kick most of you all's asses, what does that mean for a run-of-the-mill shinobi? And if I don't want to fight them, I can seduce them."

"You are hot, un," a voice said from the doorway. Ryo turned around and grinned. Sasori and Deidara were back. She leapt up and tackled the blonde. "I missed you too!" he laughed.

"I'd rather you not be seducing anyone," Sasori said dryly from behind Deidara. Ryo smirked at him. Sasori rolled his eyes back.

Ryo whirled around suddenly to face Itachi. "How about I just drop the ditz act?" she asked deviously. "You can't have Kisame following me if I'm being, GASP!," she exaggerated, holding a hand to her heart, "Competent!"

"And why would you drop the act?" Itachi asked patronizingly. He thought she'd keep up the act, that it was an order from Sasori. As if.

"Because I've grown tired of it," Ryo replied. "And so Kisame stops following me. And so you don't know where I am at all times."

"What's going on here, un?" Deidara asked curiously as he wrapped his arms around Ryo.

"Since when are you competent?" Sasori asked as he walked over to an armchair. "You've always been a bigger idiot that Deidara."

Ryo glared at him. "Enough Saso," she ordered. "I tire of this act, and it's now a moot point since I'm a puppet. So shut up." That felt good. She hadn't been able to be herself infront of other people with him for too long. It was time to show the world that Sasori of the Red Sand was totally whipped.

Sasori actually grinned. "It took you long enough," he said as he sprawled out on the chair more comfortably. "I thought you would stop immediately after you became a puppet. It's been a few years, so you'll be fine."

"Ryo, why are you talking to danna like that?" Deidara hissed in her ear. "And why hasn't he flayed you for it, un?"

Ryo chuckled. "Saso is no more my 'danna' than you are," she replied. Ryo slipped easily out Deidara's hold and sat on the floor criss-cross to lean on Sasori's legs. Sasori ruffled her hair affectionately. Ryo turned to Itachi. "Suck it, Uchiha. And call off your shark-hound."

Itachi stood and smiled a very small smile. "This is how you impress me," he said simply. He reached for the chess set to put it away. Ryo flicked her hand and the board and pieces flew to their shelf, positions un-altered. Itachi's hand had frozen when the chessboard took off. "I think I have unleashed a monster," he muttered as he walked out of the room.

"You have no idea," Sasori agreed. Ryo just smiled.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six is another random no-moving-foreword-plot-line installment. Things will start rolling again next chapter.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Deidara lusts after our heroine, Sasori pops Deidara's bubble, and Pain makes Ryo swear an oath of undying loyalty. Another typical day in the Akatsuki.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Itachi wouldn't have those weird lines under his eyes.

6

"So let me get this straight, un," Deidara said for what seemed like the thousandth time. Ryo, Sasori, and Deidara were sitting in the living room, attempting to relax. "You are a puppet master orphaned and raised by danna and you are just as powerful, if not more so, than danna? And you have been acting like a ditz so that everyone would leave you alone and so your village wouldn't notice your activities, because you're really noticeable, un."

Ryo sighed in frustration and leaned back on Sasori's legs. It had been a week since her revelation to most of the Akatsuki about her true prowess, and Deidara still couldn't get over it. "Deidara, shut up," she growled. A flick of her wrist had the blonde tied to the ceiling with chakra strings.

"Ryo, get Deidara off the ceiling," Konan ordered as she glided in. All of her movements were graceful; she would make a great puppet when she died. Ryo smirked and let the strings go. Deidara fell to the floor with a crash, landing on his back. Konan shook her head. "Pain wants to talk with you." She walked out.

Sasori looked up from his book (or down, really, since Ryo was on the floor). "Well, that's interesting," he said in a very disinterested tone. Deidara rolled over to look him in the eye.

"What's interesting, un?"

Ryo hopped to her feet. "He wants to talk 'with' me, not 'to' me," she answered as she twirled out of the room.

Deidara's eyes followed Ryo out of the room, lingering on her hips. Ryo never wore the Akatsuki cloak, for which Deidara was thankful. "What a woman, un," he stated appreciatively to no one in particular.

Sasori's shoe hit him in the back of the head, hard. "Stop ogling Ryo," he snapped. Deidara smirked and sat up, tossing the shoe gently back like a good little student.

"Danna, you're just jealous that since you raised her you can't think of her that way, un," Deidara said evilly. Sasori glared at him over the book; Deidara sensed that he had struck a nerve. "That's it, isn't it, un?" the blonde asked as he stood. "You can't admit, to yourself or anyone else, that you would do Ryo just as quickly as the rest of us. Quicker, probably. You can't fantasize about her, or jack off thinking about her-"

Sasori flew from his seat and pinned Deidara to the ground by the throat with one hand. "For the record, idiot," Sasori began in his usual bored tone directly contradicting his actions, "I am a puppet. I can no longer have sex. Neither can she, remember?"

Deidara looked stricken, his eyes wide and fearful. "She can't? You can't?" he spluttered. Sasori's grip tightened around his throat.

"She all wooden, just like me," Sasori informed him, smirking lightly. "No soft skin and curves, just hinges and weaponry. And not everyone wants her. Konan and Itachi don't, and neither does Pain." Sasori let up on Deidara's neck. As the blonde sat back up, he noticed that Sasori was already seated again, the book in his hand like he had never moved.

Deidara snorted. "I'll give you Pain, and _maybe_ Itachi," he replied dubiously, "but if you spent more time around the others you'd know that Konan is lesbian. And how totally HOT would that be?"

"How hot would what be?" Kisame asked as he walked in and flopped down ungracefully on the sofa. Itachi was right behind him and sat in another armchair, with much more dignity and elegance than his partner.

"Konan and Ryo," Deidara said nonchalantly, the yelled mischievously, "In bed, un!" He wiggled his eyebrows at Kisame.

Kisame snorted at Deidara's facial expression. "That would be sexy," he agreed. The shark and blonde went on to talk about lesbians and so on, leaving Sasori and Itachi alone for once.

Itachi was about to turn to his own book when he happened to glance at Sasori. The redhead's face was devoid of emotion and his eyes betrayed nothing, as usual. But his fingers were clenched far to tightly on the book, and his knuckles were white. _Deidara must have stumbled across his feelings for Ryo…_

"What did you need to see me for, sir?" Ryo asked as politely as she could manage. She sat in a soft, shiny leather armchair in Pain's office. A cup of hot tea was held in her hands, made to her liking before she came in. Pain stared at her from behind his desk, his fingers steepled before him. All of this made Ryo very uncomfortable.

Pain sighed and moved his hands away. "Ryo, you are over twenty now, are you not?" he asked.

"You know that I am," she replied. What a strange question. "I was twenty when I decided to become a puppet, and it's been a few years since that." He should know that. Deidara and her had thrown a huge party to commemorate her being two decades old. Kisame had gotten so drunk that he tried to kiss Zetsu. No one could forget THAT.

"I allowed you to stay with Sasori because you were young. You no longer need him, not that you needed him before. I'm sorry to have to force this choice upon you, but…" he trailed off. Pain looked slightly uncomfortable and raised his hands in a defeated gesture. Ryo narrowed her eyes at him.

"What exactly are you talking about?" she asked. Her voice was low and precise, not a good sign. Ryo had her fingers splayed lightly on her knees. Pain recognized that pose from Sasori. If he wasn't careful, bad things were about to happen.

He cleared his throat. "You must either join the Akatsuki or die, unfortunately," he stated bluntly. "Some of the members have voiced concerns about you for years. They want you to swear loyalty to us, or let Kakuzu and Hidan fight over your corpse."

"Oh, is that all," Ryo laughed. Pain looked at her suspiciously, but she ignored him. Swearing loyalty would be easy, if things went her way. "I can't really swear loyalty to the Akatsuki organization, but I will swear myself to Sasori. And he has no inclination to quit anytime soon. Death isn't really probable either," she added, a private joke between puppets.

Pain looked at her for a long time, not really seeing her. Finally, he stood up. "All right. You'll be sworn to Sasori. That should placate the others. You may go now, I have to confer with Konan." Pain walked around the desk and opened the door for Ryo.

As she passed, Ryo asked, "Is it difficult for you to be in love with a lesbian?"

Not that I'm saying there is anything wrong with being a lesbian.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for not updating in a while. We've had a string of snowstorms where I live, and the power has been going in and out. This is one of my favorite chapters, so enjoy!

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Sasori pisses Ryo off really badly, and she goes to cool off. Then a brand new character finds our heroine. Ryo decides to go with said mystery character.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Naruto wouldn't sound like a chain smoking alcoholic grandmother.

7

Ryo hung upside down off the side of Sasori's bed, watching him work on a new puppet. It had been far too long since she could just sit and watch him without pretending to be a ditz. Sasori's face was so open when he worked on his puppets. Not like the rest of the time when he had to be cold and aloof infront of Deidara and Tobi. He was a bit more animated with the others, but not like he had been with Ryo. And now that wasn't even there. Sasori seemed awkward and close-mouthed around her.

"What did Pain want to talk to you about?" he asked as he oiled a hinge. "It seemed important."

Ryo shrugged, not caring that Sasori couldn't see the gesture. "Oh, the usual. I had to take an oath that bound me to you for all eternity so that Kakuzu wouldn't kill me," she answered nonchalantly.

Slowly, Sasori turned around to look at her, a strange look in his eyes. "Oh really?" he asked in his uninterested voice. He turned back around to his puppet. "That's nice."

Something in his tone wasn't right. "Saso, what's wrong?" she asked cautiously.

Sasori laid his hands down slowly on the desk clenched in fists, knuckles white. He stared straight ahead, pretending not to have heard her. Ryo flipped off the bed and walked over to him. She put her hand on his shoulder lightly, willing him to turn around.

He didn't. "Ryo, why did you allow yourself to be bound to me?" he asked monotone.

Ryo almost laughed. A scared, amused, and frustrated laugh. "I'm not to fond of dying, truthfully. And it's not as though I'll ever be anywhere but at your side," she answered as calmly as she could. Sasori was scaring her.

Sasori didn't reply. He just sat there and stared at his puppet, a blank look on his flawless puppet face. Ryo removed her hand from his shoulder slowly. If she weren't a puppet and such functions no longer allowed to her, she would have cried. As it was, Ryo walked out of the room briskly yet composed, leaving Sasori to his own thoughts.

Sasori sat dejectedly in Itachi's room straddling a chair. The usually stoic puppet was slumped with his arms folded on the table and his head resting on his arms. Itachi sat across from him, still and poised, looking down at his puppet friend with a mixture of pity and amusement. Two untouched cups of tea sat between them.

"She bound herself to me," Sasori whispered hoarsely. Self-loathing filled his voice just as despair filled his eyes.

Itachi fought the urge to smack the redhead. He settled for saying, "I heard you the first dozen times. 'She bound herself to me,'" he mocked, a perfect imitation of Sasori, "'She'll always be with me. I don't know if I will be able to control myself. My will just isn't strong enough. I lo-'"

Sasori came to life then, sealing the Uchiha's mouth with chakra thread. He glared at his long time friend with unabashed malice. "Don't say it. Don't you ever," Sasori hissed, "Say that aloud. You would make a fine puppet Itachi. Don't tempt me." He released the threads.

Itachi snorted. "There is nothing wrong with it, Sasori," he said patiently.

Sasori scowled. "Of course there is nothing wrong with it Itachi," he sneered. "Oh, I'm twenty years older than her? I raised her? Not a problem!" Sasori was yelling by the end of his sentence. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying in vain to calm himself. "I am sick in the head."

"Obviously, or you wouldn't be in the Akatsuki," Itachi remarked dryly.

"You know what I mean."

Itachi sighed. "Yes, I do," he agreed quietly. "And you know that I'm just as sick."  
Sasori smiled, an ironic and hard smile. "We're two peas in a pod, aren't we Itachi?" the puppet master remarked. Sasori stood up and walked out of the room.

"At least you might get a happy ending," Itachi muttered. He looked at the picture frame that hung near his bed. Four people looked back at him, mocking him with their happiness.

"What the hell is wrong with him!?!" Ryo screamed. Another storm had rolled through. She was atop the plateau again, this time with targets set up for her to beat the crap out of. She stabbed through the center of one with her katana.

Thunder rolled and shook the ground. Rain drove into her face. She pulled the katana out and twisted around, swinging it in an arc to decapitate another dummy. Ryo flung the katana away and flung out her hands, bringing the practice dummies to life. She could feel in the reason that they were made: to take abuse and improve skill. Ryo clapped her hands; the dummies crashed into each other, falling apart only to have her pull them back together.

"Why is he being this way?" she screeched at one of he dummies. Ryo was so frenzied that she actually expected an answer. Upon receiving none, she tore it apart until the dummy was scrap wood. She gave the same treatment to three more until she finally collapsed, emotionally exhausted.

Ryo laid there in the mud, tears streaming down her face. She was still connected to the dummies; she could still feel their purpose. Ryo severed that connection immediately. It was her curse, the real reason everything followed her as a child. Once she touched something, she became part of it and it became part of her. She knew it; everything about it was open to her mind. Plants, objects, weather, people, fire… if chakra could touch it, she could use it as a puppet and know its soul.

Ryo stared up into the sky, rain pouring into her eyes to mix with the tears already there. Purple lightening streaked across the sky. Why was she cursed to know the essence of everything she touched? That was why Sasori never let her touch him. She would know him, know that he didn't really want her around.

That thought made her bolt upright. Well, that and the presence of another person on her mesa. "ITACHI!" Ryo yelled. "GO AWAY!"

The chuckling that reached her ears was most certainly not Itachi. The face that belonged to it though looked vastly similar. "I'm not Itachi," the boy said. He walked over from the cover of the trees to stand towering over Ryo. "But tell me, how do you know my brother? Are you a member of the Akatsuki as well?"

Ryo stood up with her usual grace. "No, I'm not," she replied truthfully. "And it's polite to state your name when you're mistaken for someone else."

"I'm-"

"Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother. You look nothing like him you know," Ryo said as she walked around Sasuke, looking him up and down. "All the reports say that you look exactly like him. You don't. You look just like very other Uchiha worthy of note: black hair and eyes, pale skin, silent and graceful. Madara is the same as well."

"And who are you?" Sasuke asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Me? Oh, I'm Ryo."

"Ryo?" he asked puzzled. "The puppet master from Suna? They say that you never leave Sasori's side." Sasuke looked around cautiously, as though Sasori would hop in out of nowhere. Ryo had to fight back the urge to laugh.

"Sasori is currently pissing me off," Ryo said, then grimaced. "I'm sure you heard." Hell, Pain probably heard her all the way in his office even with the storm.

"I was trying to be polite, but you were quite loud," Sasuke agreed with a lopsided grin. "I hope he sleeps with one eye open. I wouldn't want you this pissed off at me." His dark eyes sparkled in amusement.

Ryo rolled her eyes. "Surely you have better information that that," she scoffed. At his blank look she continued, "Both Sasori and I are puppets. We don't sleep."

Another flare of purple lightening illuminated the dark sky. "Let's get you somewhere else," Sasuke offered. "You're cold and wet and muddy. You can stay with me until you feel better toward Sasori."

Ryo looked at his outstretched hand dubiously. People caused her nothing but pain and anger, why should this one be any different? _Because he's Itachi's little brother_, the reasonable part of her brain whispered. She took his hand.

"I want you two to go and get the Jinchuuriki in Suna. His name is Gaara, and he's the Kazekage. Remember, we need him alive," Pain ordered sternly. Sasori and Deidara nodded in assent. "Well what are you waiting for? Get the hell out of my office!"

Sasori and Deidara rolled their eyes and headed out the door. "Sasori, wait a moment," Pain called out. Sasori turned around. Deidara stopped as well. "Deidara, go be some where else." Deidara stuck his lower lip out in a pout, but left anyway.

Sasori walked back over to the desk where Pain sat. "What is it?"

"Do you know where Ryo is?" Pain asked.

Sasori shook his head no and said, "I think I made her angry. Zetsu said that she went out to that plateau she loves to watch the storm. She'll come back soon enough."

Pain sighed in exasperation. "She's not there," he growled. "Zetsu says that Sasuke Uchiha found her. Ryo went off with him somewhere, and we can't follow her."

"WHY NOT?" Sasori demanded. "Zetsu-"

"Is blind to them," Pain interrupted. "Ryo has him trapped in a tree. She tapped into the tree where he was told it not to release him until she said. We didn't know she could do that," he admitted. "Her airhead act was too good. None of us know the extent of her true powers. I'm not even sure if you know what she's capable of."

Sasori glared at him. "Ryo can tap into and manipulate the very essence of anything, something even I have trouble doing. She's done it since she was born. It makes her unpredictable and very, very strong. And if that Sasuke boy has her, it's because she wants to be with him," Sasori explained waspishly. In a quieter, more reflective voice he said, "No one can force her to do anything. I should know."

Pain snorted. "I forced her to bind herself to you. Maybe you just need to threaten her with death first," he chuckled.

Sasori's jaw dropped. "Wait, what type of binding? Did you perform it, or did she?" he demanded quickly. If she did what he thought… well, then they were all screwed.

"Ryo did. She did some weird thing with a plain little doll and her blood. When she was done, it looked just like you." Pain answered. "Why? What did she do?"

Sasori groaned and flopped back into a seat. "She did an old puppet ritual. I am a puppet. If I ever become human again, she will too. It is similar to the way we became puppets, only we made our bodies into the puppet and then animated it by binding ourselves to it. She did the opposite. She bound her soul and body to mine. It's usually used in Suna as a last attack. A puppet master will bind themselves to one puppet. If the puppeteer dies, their soul enters the puppet for a short amount of time and they become a berserker," he explained. Leave it to Ryo to use it as a loophole.

"So she didn't really do anything useful," Pain grumbled. He leaned back in the chair he sat in and ran a hand through his orange hair. He should have just let Hidan and Zetsu have her.

Sasori shook his head violently. "Yes she did!" he exclaimed unhappily. "For herself anyway. The binding works both ways. If she becomes human again, so will I."

"Well, that's not good," Pain mused. He sighed and stood up. "Go and find the Jinchuuriki. I'll send Konan after her."

Sasori stood as well and walked to the door. He glanced back over his shoulder and informed his boss, "If Konan dies, I'm not going to be responsible for Ryo's actions."


	8. Chapter 8

Here's the 8th chapter. I'm not going to be updating very much for a while because I want to finish a new Criminal Minds story I started first, along with a Yugioh GX story. Sorry, but that's how life has to be. =(

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo goes to the Hebi hideout (or Taka, I forget which) and pries into Sasuke's life, Karin pisses our favorite protagonist off, and Sasori is in a fit of self-loathing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Tsunade's boobs would be smaller.

8

"Sasuke, who's she?" Karin demanded. Sasuke and Ryo had just entered the Taka hideout and Karin, not leaving any time for explanations, had jumped to conclusions. Ryo disliked her already.

"Karin, this is Ryo," Sasuke answered curtly. "Ryo, this is Karin." Sasuke walked out of the room to find Ryo some clean clothes. Was it a good idea to leave the two of them alone together? Probably not.

Ryo walked around the room looking at all the stuff. It had nice homey feel to it. The organized clutter roused memories from when she still lived in Suna and Sasori's workshop would spill out into the rest of the house. The puppet master shoved a pile of papers to one side of the sofa and flopped gracefully down. "So you're the Karin that used to work for Orochimaru," Ryo said with a laugh. "You look as ditzy as the reports said."

Karin's face turned the same color as her hair. "You're Sasori's Ryo," she pointed a finger accusatorily at the puppet master. "The puppet master from Suna. Orochimaru spoke highly of you, which can't be a good thing."

Ryo shrugged her shoulders. Orochimaru spoke highly of anyone with a skill he couldn't posses. "Orochimaru was interesting. Is he still saying he quit the Akatsuki?"

"Yes, why?"

Ryo burst into laughter. "You don't 'quit' the Akatsuki," she said after she had regained herself. "It's for life. Pain had him removed because he was doing things to little boys. The Akatsuki are a twisted bunch, but that was over the line. You can kill children, but you can't rape them." Which is why Itachi has to keep his love for Sasuke a deep dark secret. Incest is bad too.

Karin eyed Ryo suspiciously as she sat down cautiously in a chair. "They let you go," she remarked carefully. "Or are you here to spy for that bastard Itachi?"

Ryo flicked her wrist out in a dismissive gesture. "I was never a member. Sasori is pissing me off, and Sasuke offered to let me stay here for a brief period of time. Who am I to tell the last respectable member of the Uchiha clan no?" she asked mischievously. With that gesture she had thrown chakra threads onto Karin, just in case.

For the first time, Ryo opened herself to the connection willingly instead of refusing it as she had always done. The threads, eager to please as always, told her,_ 'She doesn't like you. She doesn't trust you. She wants Sasuke. She's afraid of you. She's afraid of losing Sasuke. She's afraid of bats. She likes tea with sugar. She fears Sasori. She is worried about Sasuke. She thinks that you are sleeping with Sasuke-' _Ryo cut off the flow of information.

"I asked, why did he offer to let you stay here, you ignorant bitch!" Karin yelled from her seat. She was glaring murderously at Ryo. Karin had been trying to ask her a question for a few minutes. Ryo's unresponsiveness had pissed her off.

Ryo snarled at the girl. She jerked her arm back and Karin was pulled to the ceiling. Before she could call for help, Ryo pulled her mouth shut. "I am neither ignorant nor a bitch," Ryo said coldly, enunciating each word very carefully. "You will give me the respect I deserve, as a Puppet Master if for nothing else. I am a guest, and I will be treated as such.

"You with your petty, self-satisfying desires: wanting power, wanting Sasuke, wanting materialistic things like pretty clothes and a mansion. Your pathetic fears: that I'm sleeping with Sasuke, that you aren't pretty enough, that Sasori will follow me. You, Karin, are shallow and transparent. You, Karin, are an ignorant bitch. Not me."

Ryo stood up, her gaze never leaving Karin. Karin's eyes dilated with fear. She was beginning to understand why Ryo was famed far and wide, and why Orochimaru thought so highly of her: she was terrifying.

As she slowly stood up and made her way leisurely over to her captive, Ryo pulled a glass jar from her pocket. She stood right under Karin, the jar open. With her left hand, the one without the jar, she made a fist. The threads holding Karin suddenly constricted, like sharp wires. Karin screamed. Lacerations criss-crossed her skin. Her clothes were literally torn to ribbons. And the blood dripped down the chakra into the jar.

"Ryo, what are you doing?" Sasuke asked from the doorway. He was leaning casually on the frame. "Don't kill her, please. I don't want to waste time replacing her."

A feral grin graced her features. "Fine Sasuke," she answered. Ryo walked over to him leisurely. A flick of the wrist behind her made Karin drop to the floor. She snagged the clothes out of Sasuke's grasp and continued out the door.

After changing and taking a shower, Ryo returned downstairs. The shirt was Suna style, a black guys t-shirt with a red Suna Hourglass. An Iwa style long sleeve purple fishnet shirt went under it, her middle fingers going through loops at the end. The shorts were purple and Konoha, with little pockets on the side. Her shoes were generic shinobi and red.

Ryo twirled gracefully into the living room. Karin sat in the same chair as before, only this time covered in BandAids and gauze. Her head snapped up from her book to see Ryo fall over the back of the sofa down to sit upside down next to Sasuke.

Just because she could, Ryo smiled and fluttered her fingers at the other girl. A tickling sensation crawled up Karin's spine; fear flashed across her eyes. Karin jumped up immediately, winced at the pain of her wounds, and shuffled hurriedly out of the room.

Ryo observed the magenta haired girl and let out a quiet chuckle. She glanced up to see Sasuke smile as well. _He doesn't like her. Or the other two. He misses Naruto and Kakashi and even Sakura. He wants to go home to Konoha_, the thread that she had attached to him told her. Ryo sympathized with the desire to go home; she missed Suna fiercely.

"Why do you stay here with them if you don't like them?" she asked curiously. "Why not go back to Naruto and Konoha?" That's what she would do in his place. But then again, she hadn't returned to Suna, so who was she to say?

Sasuke stiffened. "How did you-?" he began, then shook his head. "Never mind. I need to kill my brother. I need to stop the Akatsuki from getting Naruto. And I don't know if I'm welcome in Konoha." He closed his eyes, sighing unhappily.

"What's it like?" Ryo asked.

What's what like?"

Ryo rolled her eyes. "Konoha of course. I've never been there, and I have been pretty much everywhere."

Sasuke looked up at the ceiling, a small smile on his lips. "It's the most wonderful place to live. The city sprawls out lazily, with the Hokage Tower the highest building. The backdrop of the city is the Hokage Monuments, which are the faces of every Hokage we have ever had. The rest is surrounded by trees, huge trees, taller than any I've ever seen. We used to climb up them and slack off, just watching the clouds roll by. And when it rains, everything sparkles like diamonds. Every leaf, every building, every part of the city. It's beautiful.

"The best time of the year is summer. Everything is so green and alive. We have festivals and contests almost every other day. Cooking contests, athletic competitions, craft festivals, fireworks, and the Midsummer's Festival… And in the evenings fireflies light everything up. Naruto used to drag me out to the forest to catch them with him. It was the most wondrous place in the world, and it was home," he sighed nostalgically. His eyes were peaceful and his posture was relaxed.

Ryo smiled. "What about your friends?" she asked, trying not to sound too interested. "This Naruto, and Kakashi?"

Sasuke snorted, and the peaceful visage disappeared to be replaced with a sardonic one. "Kakashi was my sensei, not my friend," he clarified. "I had no friends. Just a horde of fangirls. Sakura was the worst. She was on my team, and she jeopardized several of our missions because she would sooner help me when I didn't need it than aid Naruto-" Sasuke stopped mid-sentence. "Naruto," he whispered. He closed his eyes, looking almost in pain.

Ryo let him have a few moments to compose himself. It wasn't a usual thing for Sasuke to be affected this much by a person, or so Itachi had said. When the Uchiha did speak again, his voice was a mixture of pain, laughter, and longing. "I did have a friend. Naruto Uzumaki, Konoha's #1-hyper-active-knuckle-headed-ninja. When we were little, no one would have anything to do with Naruto. Now that we're older, we know why…"

"It's because he's the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi," Ryo said calmly.

Sasuke nodded. "Our parents didn't like him, and so neither did we. Because of this, Naruto acted out to get attention. He got in a lot of trouble. Then one day, after we had already been teamed up, we were in the Land of Water helping a bridge builder. I was almost killed. Naruto saved me.

"As I was recuperating, I had a chance to look back on what I knew of him. And I surprised myself. We had become friends, and rivals, without my even knowing. And that was a strange feeling. My first thought was, 'Oh no, I'm friends with the freak.' Then I realized there was no basis for him being labeled a freak. Naruto is friendly and kind, all smiles all the time. He's funny and energetic and the world's biggest idiot. But threaten him or his friends, and he's the most powerful person I know.

"Because by this time, when we returned for the Chunin Exams, Naruto had more friends. Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Ino, Hinata, even Sakura. Then he befriended Neji and Rock Lee. People stopped seeing him as a monster and a fool and started seeing what I saw: a beautiful, strong, caring person. He was becoming a strong ninja, stronger than me. Naruto defeated Shukaku and his Jinchuuriki Gaara all alone. And then I realized I was jealous of him, that he was better than me and that he had other friends. The Hokage, both Sarutobi and Tsunade, adored him. Jiraya the Toad Sage, one of the Sanin, had adopted him as an apprentice. And I was alone again.

"So I left, to become more powerful. But I couldn't do it on my own. I needed Orochimaru's curse seal. And Naruto is still stronger than I am in so many ways: physically, emotionally, psychologically… And he's still looking for me. He'll never give up on me.

"Because that's what he does, you know," Sasuke smiled wryly. "He takes people, lost people, people in need, and he makes them strong. He befriended Neji Hyuga, and now Neji has made peace with his uncle and views the world as possibilities rather than limitation.

"Our Hokage Tsunade was a drunken gambler. He gave her hope again. Gaara of the Sand was a monstrous murder, but Naruto did something to him and now he's the Kazekage. I'm scared to find out what I would turn into if I let Naruto have me," Sasuke chuckled. His eyes were bright yet bleak. He obviously cared for Naruto. A LOT.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. Sasuke sat looking at his hands, which were folded on his knees, presumably thinking of Naruto. Ryo stared at the ceiling, trying to remember how Itachi had described Naruto. Finally, Ryo couldn't take it any more. "What does Naruto look like?" she demanded.

Sasuke glanced up, startled; he had forgotten she was there. He recuperated nicely and smiled warmly as he replied, "The last time I saw him, he was this tall," he stuck his arm out a little under five feet from the ground, "and he wore the world's brightest, ugliest orange jumpsuit. He has these strange whiskers on his face, like a fox. His skin in permanently sun kissed. Naruto's hair is so yellow it puts the sun to shame. And his eyes are blue and sparkle like light on the water. He's thin because he only eats Ramen, but muscular," Sasuke finished abruptly. The smiled fell from his face to be replaced by something akin to self-loathing. "He's the most beautiful person I have ever met," he whispered.

Ryo wisely remained quiet. Sasuke stood up and walked out of the room without a backward glance. She heard the door slam and sighed. That was what Itachi had said. Sasuke was in love with Naruto. It was the other reason he could never have his brother.

"Danna, un?" Deidara asked timidly. Sasori ignored him and continued staring into their fire. They had set up camp in a cave to weather out a sandstorm. Sasori had been quiet the whole trip. Not his usual quiet, but an angry quiet. Deidara was beginning to worry about him.

Sasori could feel the blonde's eyes on him. He sighed in defeat. "What do you want, Deidara?" the puppet growled. He kept staring into the fire, refusing to look over at the artist.

Deidara took a deep breath and asked, "What's wrong? You're angrier than usual, and you're all quiet, un. You didn't even yell at me when I burnt dinner! I'm worried about you."

Sasori raised his gaze slowly to meet Deidara's eyes. "Do you want to know the truth Deidara?" the puppet master asked.

Deidara nodded his head emphatically. "Yes, un!" he exclaimed seriously. "That is," he amended respectfully, "only if you want to tell me, un."

"I made Ryo angry. VERY angry," the puppet began. "So she ran away. Ryo ran away with Sasuke Uchiha." Sasori hung his head. "And do you know what Deidara? I know exactly what I did wrong. But I had no choice." His voice was carefully neutral.

They sat in silence for a while. Deidara was shocked that Sasori had told him anything. Sasori was shocked too, but he ignored that feeling and focused on his self-loathing.

"Danna," Deidara began slowly. Sasori hadn't killed him yet, so he was probably safe to ask a few more questions. "Are you sure that's all?"

"What more could there be, Deidara?"

Deidara took a deep breath. He didn't want to say it aloud because that seemed to make it more real, but it was necessary. "I think that you're in love with Ryo," he declared, then dove behind one of the rocks in the cave.

Sasori rolled his eyes at his partner's antics. "Get back here," he ordered boredly. "I won't hurt you. Yet."

Deidara stuck his head out. "I think that you've loved Ryo for a really long time. Not like when she was a baby and stuff, un!" he assured Sasori quickly. He stood from his hiding place and walked back over to the fire. "That would be creepy, un!"

Sasori sighed. Was he really so easy to read that DEIDARA figured it out? "How did you figure it out," he asked, trying to be uninterested. In truth Sasori was a bundle of nerves.

"The way you look at her," he answered simply. "The way that you watch her every move and still can never predict what she's going to do next, un."

Sasori gaped at his comrade for a moment, then regained his usual stony composure. "Go to sleep Deidara," he ordered. Deidara looked across at him, hurt, but hastened to do as he was bid.

That night, Sasori lay awake, tormented by Deidara's words and his own feelings. "I'm truly sick," he whispered, self-abhorrence dripping thickly from his voice. As Sasori rolled onto his side, a single tear rolled down his cheek.


	9. Chapter 9

Here's the 9th chapter. I'm sorry I didn't update in so long, but I might have another chapter up later today to make up for it. This one isn't a bad chapter, but it's more to move the plot along than anything else.

"Dance my darlings, dance," Ryo whispered as she made three little ballerinas twirl across a table. Jugo and Suigetsu watched, completely enthralled, as the tiny puppets spun gracefully infront of them.

"You've watched every bit of puppetry she's done since you realized she was here!" Karin shouted, exasperated with her two stupid teammates. "Give it a rest!"

Suigetsu glared at her. "Karin, that is no way to talk to a guest," he informed her reproachfully. Ryo giggled, trying to encourage him with her airhead act. It worked, but then again it always worked.

"She shouldn't even be here," Karin grumbled none the less as she flopped clumsily onto the sofa to pout. "She's just going to tell that bastard Itachi where we are."

Ryo rolled her eyes. Having stayed with Sasuke for three days, the puppet master knew that Karin knew Ryo wasn't going to tell Itachi where Sasuke was. She also knew that they had long since realized that Ryo wasn't going to divulge Itachi's location. All of this seemed to fuel the fire of Karin's hatred toward the puppet girl.

"If you don't like her, then leave her alone," Jugo said simply. He almost giggled when one of the ballerinas curtsied to him.

For once Karin had no reply. Ryo was about to point out that the pink haired girl was struck dumb in more ways than one, but she sensed the approach of Sasuke. Ryo liked Sasuke, as did her chakra threads. It might have been the fact that he felt so similar to Itachi, but Ryo thought there was more to it. The feeling of a kindred soul called to her.

Sure enough, Sasuke entered the room drenched with the rain that hadn't ceased to fall since Ryo had followed him. "You three," he said shortly, "Out."

Karin and Suigetsu opened their mouths to protest, but Jugo gave them a look and they filed out of the room looking sad and forlorn, like puppies no one will play with. Leaping to her feet, Ryo followed them and strung threads in the doorway. If the others were smart, they wouldn't try to walk through it until she took the strings down.

Without preamble, Sasuke began, saying, "Sasori and Deidara are headed toward Suna to capture their Jinchuuriki, Sabaku no Gaara. He's the current Kazekage and your cousin. Gaara is also a dear friend of Naruto. When Konoha hears that Gaara has been captured, Naruto will be sure to involve himself."

Cocking her head to the side Ryo asked, "So? What does this have to do with me?"

Sasuke sat down hard on the sofa Karin had just vacated. "Naruto won't allow Gaara to be killed. Your Sasori won't have a problem killing Naruto to get to the Kazekage. This leaves the possibility for both of us to become sad and unhappy all at the same time," he explained curtly.

"I thought sad and unhappy was your usual state of being," Ryo joked dryly, but inside she was growling in aggravation. Sasori was bound and determined to make life hell for her. Hanging her head she demanded, "What would you like me to do?"

"All I can ask of you is this: don't let Naruto die. I don't care how or who you have to kill to do it, but keep him safe."

Ryo stared at Sasuke for a moment, then opened herself to the connection. The threads confirmed what she already knew. _He loves Naruto. He wants Naruto in a VERY carnal way. He's afraid to ask you to defend Naruto from Sasori. He knows you love Sasori._ Well, that last part she didn't know he knew.

Surely her feelings for Sasori weren't so obvious that Sasuke would notice. Not that it mattered, but it was a strange feeling. To have someone else know her current deepest and darkest secret was both terrifying and at the same time a total relief.

Sasuke was oblivious to her private musings. "They're heading for Suna the last I heard, but they might already be there. I don't want to seem like I'm kicking you out, but I need you to leave now if you're going to head Naruto off," he reminded her urgently.

Ryo nodded, stood up, and smiled down at Sasuke. "If you ever get granted clemency in Konoha, give me a call. I'd love to visit you and Naruto," she added wickedly. Ryo grabbed the small pack she had placed by the door that morning; she had planned to leave the next day anyway.

Sasuke shook his head, his face a stunning lopsided smile. "If only it were that simple," he muttered. Then in a similarly wicked tone he said, "When you and Sasori get together, I want a wedding invite."

Ryo stuck her tongue out at him as she fastened her purple cloak around her neck. "As though life could ever be that easy," she remarked. Bounding over to the younger Uchiha, she gave him a light peck on the top of the head. "You know what? If we weren't completely in love with other people, you and I wouldn't make a bad match Uchiha."

Smirking up at the puppet, he replied, "Except for the whole fact that you are an inanimate object." Ryo chuckled in agreement and walked out the door without looking back.

Ryo stood at the gates of the city of Sunagakure and simply stared. Happy tears ran down her cheeks, creating little lines in the dirt and grit that covered most of her body. Home. What a superb, longed, and beautiful thing to see after so many years away. Ryo didn't know which was worse; the ache of pain in her heart from being away from Suna, or the ache of joy for being near once more.

Held loosely in her hand was her most prized possession: her Suna headband. Bringing the piece of metal and cloth up to her face, Ryo saw her reflection. What had she become since leaving home? She had done nothing to be proud of. Pretending to be an unreliable idiot for so long and sticking so close to Sasori had done nothing but make her lose a part of herself. The part Granny and Sasori had been so proud of. The part she was born with. Her independent perfection. Well, no longer. It was time to make things right by her own standards once more.

Tying the headband around her neck, the puppet master entered the city with her head held high.

Suna hadn't changed since she had left, so finding the Kazekage's office was a simple matter. If luck truly favored the brave, Sasori would not have arrived yet. Shinobi ran here and there in the building, knocking into each other and slamming doors, yelling and crying. It was like a beehive that had been hit with a baseball bat.

Grabbing one of the ninja as she ran by, Ryo demanded calmly, "What is going on here?"

"What do you mean what is going on here?" the girl snapped. Her face was red and eyes puffy from crying. "The Kazekage has been kidnapped and Kankuro has been poisoned. Where have you been for the last-"

"Far, far away," Ryo replied calmly. "So don't blame me. Where is Kankuro now?" If the Kazekage was gone, that meant that Sasori already had him. Sasori had probably also poisoned Kankuro, whoever that was, which meant Ryo was the only one who could possibly help him.

"In the infirmary, room three," the girl replied, starting to gasp like she was about to start crying. "I really have to go." The kunoichi ran off, sniffling. Ryo let her go; crying wasn't something she needed at that moment.

Walking briskly while trying to avoid the mad rush of shinobi dashing about was difficult, but Ryo managed to arrive at the infirmary without having to hurt anyone. She slid into the third room quietly, hoping to go unnoticed.

That plan failed. "Who are you and what are you doing in here?" a girl with four pigtails demanded shrilly. She seemed familiar, but Ryo couldn't quite place it.

"I'm Yakunan," Ryo lied smoothly. "My parents were assigned to be spies in Amegakure when I was an infant and they took me with them. They were recently killed and I felt I should return to the place of my birth." She held up the purple headband around her neck for inspection. "This was my mother's."

The blonde nodded slowly, cautiously accepting the lie. Suna was far too hectic for this woman to do anything else. "Fine, I'll deal with you later," she assured Ryo. Ryo smiled. She had no intentions of being in Suna longer than was necessary. "But for now, you need to leave."

Ryo shook her head. "I heard he was poisoned. I can help," she declared. The other woman narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Let me see him." Ryo flicked out a thread with her pinky and attached it to the blonde's ankle.

_Her name is Temari. She is the Kazekage and Kankuro's sister. She's worried. She doesn't know if she believes you or not. The Konoha ninja are already looking after Kankuro. A pink haired girl named Sakura, who studied under the Slug Princess, is taking care of him. Granny Chiyo looked at the poison and can't tell what Sasori put in it-_

"We have the situation in hand," Temari insisted cautiously. Taking Ryo by the arm, she led the puppet master out of the room briskly. "I think there is someone you should meet."

Ryo went along complacently as Temari held fast to her upper arm. Breaking away would have been simple, seeing as her arms could detach, but Temari was taking her some place she wanted to go. The younger girl was taking Ryo to see Granny Chiyo.

Down the hall, through an arch, one left turn and an open door later Temari finally released her captive. Sitting at a table with a tiny wind up puppet was Granny Chiyo. Ryo smiled. Granny looked the same as she had the day Ryo left. A little more worn, maybe, but otherwise she was still the mischievous old woman Ryo adored.

"Elder Chiyo," Temari began politely. Ryo almost snorted, but she stopped herself. It wasn't Temari's fault that she didn't know Granny as well as Ryo did. "I have someone I want you to meet."

The old master didn't even bother to look up. "Go be some where else Temari. Leave whoever it is. I'll have some one come and bring you their remains later," she said boredly. It had obviously been a while since Granny had been able to toy with any one worthy of her skill.

Bowing like a good little girl to her elder, Temari replied, "As you wish Granny." Temari walked out and shut the door behind her. Ryo again fought the urge to chuckle. The door would be little barrier against Granny's reaction.

"What's your name girlie?" Chiyo asked with a sigh. She tweaked one of the wings on the little yellow bird she held. It mouth opened and a pathetic 'quack' came out.

"Yakunan," Ryo replied innocently. "But you probably know me by a different name."

Ryo could sense that Chiyo rolled her eyes, she didn't even need to see it. "And what name is that? And give me a family name. I've been around since before your grandmother was born, I'll warrant you, and there isn't a name in Suna I don't know," Chiyo declared proudly. Finally satisfied, the old lady put the duck on the table where it waddle around in a circle directed by her chakra threads.

Grinning like a fool, Ryo flicked out a thread and took control of the duck. She pulled it off the table and had it soar the short distance to where she stood only to fly around her head. Chiyo snapped her head around to see where her puppet had gotten off to. Chiyo glared at the younger puppeteer in displeasure, then widened in shock.

"I'm Akasuna no Ryo," Ryo stated simply. Letting the duck land gently on the table, Ryo opened her arms to her grandmother. "Did you miss me Granny?"

"That's the whole of it," Ryo finished. Granny leaned back in her chair, amazed and worried. It was nice to still be able to do the unexpected to granny, Ryo thought. Truthfully, she had assumed Chiyo had died long before.

Chiyo rubbed her tired eyes with a wrinkled hand. "Do you think you can stop Sasori?" she asked seriously. It was time to get to work.

Contemplating for a moment, Ryo nodded. "Yes, but I have a very vague plan," she informed her granny. "I bound myself to him."

Chiyo looked across at her suspiciously. "What type of binding did you perform?" the old woman asked cautiously. There were many kinds of binding, some for good and others that could only result in the death of all involved.

"The puppet binding," Ryo said simply. She sat back and waited for the reaction she knew would come. Granny wasn't as young as she once was; it took her a little longer to grasp things these days.

Finally the old cogs in Granny's head began to turn. "If you become human, so will he," she replied slowly.

Ryo smiled. "But more importantly, if he becomes human so will I," she informed her favorite old person. "I think that the easiest way to stop him is to kill him. Then we sacrifice some one and perform the resurrection jutsu."

An alarmed look crossed the old woman's face. "We can't simply find a sacrifice!" she exclaimed hotly. "Things have changed since you were last here, my girl. Morals and practice standards have been raised! Human life is valued!"

Ryo smiled graciously at Chiyo. "I see you have become soft in you old age," she said indulgently. "It's all right Granny. I already have made plans. No one will be killed that hasn't already been slated to die. I managed to procure a lower class thug from Iwa to kill. I have a friend who owes him a few ill turns, so I figure I can use this to call a favor if I ever need one."

Chiyo sighed and closed her eyes, looking very old and tired. "Oh that I had ever taken the two of them under my wing…" she muttered.

"This is Yakunan," Chiyo introduced curtly. Ryo stepped up and bowed politely to the group of shinobi assembled to rescue the Kazekage. One with a mask and silver hair, one in red with pink hair, and the last was in bright orange. "She will be accompanying us."

"Can we go yet?" the one in orange whined. Ryo looked him over surreptitiously. His hair was like sunlight and he had eyes the color of light on water. A slight startle ran through her; this was Sasuke's Naruto. "Gaara is in trouble!"

"The best way to proceed is to hurry slowly," Ryo told him. Naruto and the pink haired girl, Sakura she recalled, shot her a puzzled look. Sighing, Ryo explained. "The Akatsuki have the Kazekage. One is Sasori, a master puppeteer from our very own Suna. The other is called Deidara. He's an explosives expert from Iwa. It would be unwise to go at them unprepared. They might very well have laid traps. We must move with haste of course, but not be reckless about it."

Sakura nodded in agreement. Naruto gave Ryo a tiny glare before consenting. "Now that that's settled," Granny said, "we must leave. According to Kankuro they were making their way across the desert."

"If I know them as well as I claim to, they are heading for a cave on the Wind/Fire Nations border," Ryo chimed in. It was the closest place to summon that horrid bijuu-sucking statue.

The masked one eyed her suspiciously. "What does a common Sand Shinobi know about the evil organization called the Akatsuki?" he asked politely. Ryo smiled on the inside. If she was a common sand shinobi then Itachi was a run-of-the-mill Konoha shinobi.

"Question her later," Chiyo snapped. "I want to leave now."

"So you're Naruto," Ryo mused quietly as they ran through the desert. "You're exactly how they described." No need for him to know that the 'they' she referred to was Sasuke and Itachi.

"And how was I described?" he asked puzzled. Ryo always felt a little part of herself die when blondes acted as stupid as they were stereotypically supposed to.

"If we live to see the Kazekage back home to Suna, maybe I'll tell you," she hedged. At the moment she was supposed to be a young girl named Yakunan, not Akasuna no Ryo. "I haven't been home to Suna since I was a little girl," she said changing the subject obviously. "What's the new Kazekage like?"

That sparked Naruto's attention. He smiled. "Gaara is amazing. He's a Jinchuuriki, just like me, and he's managed to become the leader of his village. He's protective and kind and knows what he's doing. I feel lucky to know him," Naruto admitted. Ruefully he added, "I rarely know what I'm doing."

Ryo smiled and nodded. The easiest traits to admire in another person are the ones you don't possess yourself. Opening her mouth to say something, Ryo was immediately cut off by Sakura.

"Naruto!" she called shrilly. The poor boy's head snapped over to her so fast that he must have gotten whiplash. "Why don't you come run by me?" The saccharine in her voice and the smile on her face almost made Ryo gag. But Naruto, being a typical and truly good guy, dropped Ryo like a hot rock and sped over to Sakura. Over his head Ryo saw Sakura shoot her a smug look.

Before she could pull the chakra strings that she had already attached to the pink haired girl and make her trip, Kakashi appeared next to her. "You know, little parrot, you might want to try dulling your feathers a bit more," he suggested amiably. "Someone sharp like me might notice that there's something out of place about you."

Ryo gave him a dazzling smile. "I think all this running has dulled my feathers quite enough," she assured him. Flicking out a tiny thread she attached it to him for later, in case the need arose. Something did slip through the closed connection anyway though.

_Parrot my left ass cheek. This girl is a falcon, and I intend to figure out what she's hunting._

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo leaves the hideout to catch up with Naruto, Sasori kidnaps Gaara, and Granny Chiyo is back (for now).

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and there would be so much more Neji that your eyes would bleed from being in the presence of so much awesome.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10! Woot! Sorry to throw more meaningless filler at you all, but the real Naruto series is full of it, so I think I can get away with it. Next chapter is when things get good, and possibly the one after that is when… well you'll find out later.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo thinks Kakashi is too observant, Kakashi does in fact know too much, Sakura is a bitch, Naruto is oblivious, and Itachi pays a visit.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Naruto would wear his cute little sleeping cap more often.

"I think we're getting close," Ryo muttered. She was beginning to feel some of the threads she had put on Deidara. They were at least within thirty miles of their targets. Hopefully Gaara was still alive.

Naruto nodded, a determined look permanently etched into his face. Sasuke was right; the kid was the most determined person she had ever met.

Suddenly, as if her thoughts of Sasuke had summoned it, a very different presence spiked her senses. A familiar, friendly presence. Without explaining herself to the others, Ryo dropped to the forest floor. "Yakunan!" Sakura yelled, still playing the superiority card. "We're supposed to stay together!"

The rest of the group fell to the ground after her. "What in the name of all things mechanized are you doing?" Chiyo demanded. Her breathing was labored; this was obviously taking a toll on her limited strength. "Why are we stopped?!"

Raising her hand slowly, Ryo pointed to the other end of the clearing. "Itachi," she whispered.

There stood the older of the Uchiha brothers in all his dark and elegant beauty. A light smirk adorned his face, but she had long ago learned that it was simply a habit for him. He strode calmly foreword, his red eyes dancing with their own eerie light.

"Naruto," he greeted cordially. Looking straight at the blonde, a true look lighted upon the man's face. Ryo saw pride, contempt, envy, and even some form of love radiating from Itachi. But the moment passed and the look along with it. "This would be easier if you simply followed me."

Naruto replied, but Ryo didn't bother to notice. Something was wrong with Itachi. He had no strings on him. His presence was strange also. He felt like Itachi, but there was no substance to it. Like when you smell a faint waft of fresh pie and know a bakery is around the corner but don't actually see it.

Ryo stepped back to stand with Granny and Sakura. Giving a brief nod to Itachi, she waited to see what he wanted.

Not a minute passed before he threw Ryo into a genjutsu.

"Yakunan," he chuckled. They stood in the exact same place, but Sakura, Naruto, Granny, and Kakashi were gone. "Misfortune. How aptly you name yourself, and yet at the same time you are can't be further from the truth."

Ryo smiled and walked foreword to her friend. "It's good to see you too, Itachi," she said hugging him briefly. "But what are you doing here ruining my mission?"

Itachi cocked an eyebrow. "I don't recall Pain giving you a mission," he replied. "Nor do I recall you rejoining the ranks of Suna's shinobi. You aren't a Konoha shinobi either. You can see why I'm puzzled."

Ryo sighed at his thick headed-ness. He was going to make her say it. "I'm on a mission for your brother," she admitted.

Itachi smiled sarcastically at her. "How sweet," he drawled. Ryo winced at the hate in his voice. "My brother has completely smitten another girl. I never thought that he would do it to you Ryo. I assured Pain that you would be fine with him, that your loyalty was to Sasori alone. Maybe some part of me hoped that you were at least a little bit loyal to me, too. But no. All he has to do is bat those onyx eyes and people melt to their knees to do his will!"

A few murders* of crows and a congress* of ravens shrieked from the trees. The sky turned dark and the grass and greenery around them shriveled.

Ryo slapped him. Her hand reacted quicker than her brain. She gasped at the red mark that sprawled across his beautiful pale skin. Itachi looked shocked too, but that didn't stop her from speaking her mind. "Itachi, don't take your frustrations with your brother out on me," she growled menacingly. "It was in both of our best interests for me to come here. Sasori will be killed if I don't save him, and if something goes wrong Naruto will die. I'm supposed to protect them both."

Itachi stared blankly at her. "You're protecting Naruto," he finally said, voice devoid of emotion, "from me. For my brother."

Ryo nodded, trying in vain to find where his thoughts were headed. "I've read his mind Itachi," she whispered. His focus snapped back to her, his eyes intense. He knew she never used the connection of her threads, but if Ryo was claiming to have used it he had to believe her. "Naruto is all he thinks about. It's the first thing he thinks of in the morning, the last face he sees at night. How can I not help a love so pure?"

"Is not all love pure?" Itachi asked almost petulantly.

Ryo smiled sadly at the older Uchiha. "This is different. Sasuke has loved Naruto in secret for thirteen years, since even before you left Konoha. And his love is requited," she declared quietly. "I read Naruto's mind, scattered though it is. He loves your brother even more than Sasuke loves him. He just can't quite articulate it."

Itachi closed his eyes. Ryo had an urge to go over and hug him, to try and ease his pain, but two things stopped her. The first was that nothing she could say or do would make the hurt lessen. The second was that it was time for her to have things conforming to her standards once more.

Finally, he seemed to come to a decision. "All right," he whispered. His eyes snapped open. "Then I suppose you had better guard my brother's love carefully. I should hate to have to come after you because you let his heart break."

Ryo smiled. "You underestimate me once more Itachi," she told him right before she broke the genjutsu.

Ryo opened her real eyes and saw the corpse of a Sand ninja in the ground with Granny standing over it. Sakura was staring at Naruto as though he had grown a third eye and sprouted an extra arm. Kakashi on the other hand was staring right at her.

"We tried to wake you from the genjutsu, but you somehow rejected us," he mused lightly. Ryo narrowed her eyes. This one was a bit too observant for his own good. "Do you know Itachi Uchiha? And don't lie to me, I can spot it on you."

Ryo gave him a wolfish grin. "Let me tell you something, Kakashi," she began mischievously. "Sometimes things should only be answered in full or not at all. This is one of those things. So you can wait for your questions to be answered once we get the Kazekage back to Suna."

Ryo stared impassively at the huge rock infront of her. On the inside though, she was boiling with fury and impatience. The other Konoha shinobi had left almost an hour earlier and there was still no word from them about the seals.

She and Granny had gone over the plan earlier. Chiyo would stay with Sakura and kill Sasori. Naruto they knew would give chase to Deidara, and Kakashi would follow him. Ryo had to somehow wrap Gaara's corpse in a protective layer of threads, almost like a cocoon, and then go and be ready to resurrect Sasori before she died too. Then they would both become human again and live happily ever after.

Okay, the last part was a lie. But then at least she could hopefully beat some sense into him.

A shadow passed over her, blocking her sun. Glancing up she saw Kakashi and Sakura glaring down at her. "To think we almost trusted you, you lying bitch," Sakura snarled. Her fists were glowing. _She's going to hit you._

"Now Sakura, let's give her a chance to explain herself," Kakashi said reasonably. To Ryo he continued, in a much less friendly tone, "Yakunan, if that is your real name, now would be a good time to tell us the truth."

Ryo closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb. "You all just have to look a gift horse in the mouth, don't you?" she asked with a sigh. Snapping her eyes open, the puppeteer leapt lithely to her feet with all the grace she had been holding back since she arrived in Suna.

Naruto, who had been talking with Granny Chiyo, happened to glance over at his other teammates. He was shocked to see them behaving with hostility toward Yakunan. "Guys, what's up?" he asked cautiously. "Why do you look like you're going to skin Yakunan?"

"You can't skin something that has no skin," Sakura spat. Ryo rolled her eyes, but inside she was furious with herself. That's what they had been doing while she was talking to Itachi. The little pink medical witch had examined her.

"WHAT!?!" Naruto yelled in that endearing way he has. Jerking his gaze to Yakunan he asked, "Yakunan, what are they talking about?"

"It all makes sense now," Kakashi said. Holding back a self-contemptuous laugh, Ryo motioned for him to continue. "Your story about having been abroad for your entire life. How you arrived just in time to help us track down the Akatsuki. Your in-depth knowledge of them. That fact that you have no organs, skin, or ligaments. You are a puppet of the Akatsuki, literally.

"How are they doing it?" he continued, this time puzzled. "You have no chakra threads controlling you. You seem to think and act on your own. Are you a creation of Sasori of the Red Sand?"

Ryo was unable to hold back the peal of laughter that spilled from her mouth. Looking over at Granny Chiyo, who had been oddly silent through the entire exchange, she asked, "May I tell them Granny? They seem to have figured out the important information."

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura all snapped their heads back to stare at the old woman. Chiyo gave her granddaughter a look so sour it would have made a rock pucker. "Fine," she retorted acerbically. "But when they try to kill you, don't look to me for help!"

The younger puppet master took that as an okay. "My name is Akasuna no Ryo," she declared proudly. "And through a long and arduous process I made myself into a puppet."

"Akasuna no Ryo?" Kakashi asked, startled. "That's impossible. She was a little girl kidnapped by Sasori of the Red Sand!"

Ryo took a deep bow. "One in the same," she replied. "But Saso saved me, not stole me. And I believe it is time for your mound of pink muscle to break that rock." She pointed to the huge boulder whose seals were falling off.

In the bedlam of the rock shattering, Ryo slipped off into the forest. Things hadn't gone quite as she had planned, but she was rusty. Sitting around for a decade doing nothing but flirting with Deidara had made her less observant. She needed to work on that.

Ryo sat perched on a rock near the opening of the cave where Granny and Sakura were battling Sasori. From the tone of his voice and the fact that he was using the Third, Ryo could tell that Sasori was pissed off.

Maybe he thought Granny had died as well, she mused idly to herself. Her other mission, to wrap the Kazekage in thin spidery threads, had already been accomplished. All she had to do was sit back and wait.

The battle was taking forever. Sakura had already been poisoned, and she only had a few more minutes left to live. In Ryo's opinion, the world would be better without the pink-haired slut. But her death would make Naruto sad, which would make Sasuke even more moody.

Ryo looked down at the hinge that connected her arm to her hand. The wrist hinge. How would Saso react to being human again? How would she herself be?

Would Sasori hate her for making him human once more?

You know, comments are nice. I'm just sayin'...


	11. Chapter 11

So I lied. Things move along in this chapter, but not as quickly as I would like. Hope you enjoy it. You're getting another look into the Sasori side of things.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo brings Sasori back to life, Sasori still feels a lot of self-loathing, and Chiyo is dead.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Sai would never even been contemplated as becoming a real character.

"Come Sakura, we must catch up with Naruto," Chiyo wheezed. Granny sounded pained, like breathing was an arduous task. Though she couldn't see it, Ryo assumed that Sakura wrapped one of Granny's arms around her shoulder and dashed off to follow Naruto. This gave Ryo the privacy she needed to resurrect her Saso.

Leaping gracefully down to the cavern floor and landing like a cat, Ryo strode quickly over to Sasori's body. Pulling out a scroll she summoned what appeared to be a person who had been hog-tied. Flipping out a kunai, Ryo severed his bindings.

She only had three more minutes until she died as well. Working quickly, she took control of the man's body. It wasn't difficult to transfer his life energy into Sasori. When the transfer was complete she flung the corpse out of the way and waited.

Slowly, color returned to Sasori's cheeks. The puppet shell he inhabited began to liquefy and congeal again, until it resembled flesh once more. The capsule that held his heart sank into the newly fleshed chest and disappeared. In one great and painful shudder, Sasori began breathing again for the first time in almost twenty years.

Ryo didn't have time to ponder her godlike actions. She fell to the ground, writhing in agony. It was her turn to become human.

Everything hurt. That was the only thing Sasori really knew. Fire and ice and electricity were flowing into his body, tearing him apart. He had been floating in the black abyss of death, pondering what was to happen to him, when suddenly pain had engulfed him and wrenched him back into the light of day.

The pain began to ebb as quickly as it came, though not completely fading. The next thing Sasori realized was that his chest was moving of its own accord. With a start he noticed he was breathing.

Cracking an eyelid, an actual fleshy eyelid, he groaned and tried to sit up. Muscles, unused and stiff, protested. What the hell had happened to him? Looking at his wrists he saw no hinges, no weapons, and no poison. Was he mortal again?

Turning his stiff neck to the left in an attempt to loosen it, Sasori almost fell back again. Ryo was on the ground next to him, rolling in pain. Poison, weapons, and mechanisms were falling from her skin. Skin that moved and flexed, not just wood. Jerking onto his knees, Sasori tried to crawl over to her.

Suddenly, her writhing stopped. Taking a huge breath, Ryo opened her eyes. A smile flickered across her face. Leaping to her feet, just as elegantly as if she was still a puppet, Ryo spun in a circle and let out a peal of bell like laughter. Sasori sighed in relief. Ryo was fine.

Turning around when she heard the sigh, Ryo saw Sasori for the first time with her new mortal eyes. Joy sparkled from her red irises. Reaching out a hand, she pulled her friend to his feet. Sasori wobbled a bit, but managed to stay upright.

"What did you do?" he asked puzzled. He flexed his hand, marveling at his tendons and the way his skin rippled across them. "Why am I not dead?"

"More importantly, you should be asking why you aren't a puppet," she informed him briskly. As she began picking up the weapons that had fallen out of her body, Ryo continued, "To answer your question, and the one that you didn't ask, I had sealed myself to you with the puppet binding."

"Pain told me that," he said impatiently, waving it off with a brisk gesture as unimportant.

Ryo fixed him with a look that shut him up. "Don't interrupt," she ordered. Sasori smirked inside, but wisely remained silent. "When you died I brought you back as human. Since you became human, I was transformed into a human again."

Sasori mulled over this information. "So you knew I was going to die," he said, fishing for information.

Ryo snorted and straightened back up, her weapons collected and put away. "Forming conjectures with no basis Sasori?" she teased. Sasori glared half-heartedly at his, for lack of better word, partner. "I didn't know you were going to die until Granny and I decided it would be easiest to kill you."

That brought Sasori's calculating mind onto a side trip. "On that note," he said with a puzzled smile, "I thought the old woman died years ago."

Ryo laughed her marvelous laugh again, and Sasori caught himself smiling like a fool staring at her. "I had thought the same thing," she agreed with a giggle. Her face suddenly flipped from happy to serious, making Sasori also do a 180 to keep up with her. "You need to go back to the Akatsuki and tell them that you are alive and human. I have to follow the Kazekage and Naruto."

Ryo turned to dash off into the sunset, but moving as fast as his slow mortal body would allow, Sasori caught her wrist and pulled her back to his side. Ryo flicked her eyes to where his fingers were still wrapped around her wrist and then up to his face, puzzled.

Trying to ignore the fact that Ryo was warm and soft and oh so close, Sasori fixed her with stern glare. "You will do no such thing," he ordered. "Let Deidara take care of them."

Ryo rolled her eyes. "I thought Itachi would have told everyone by now," she muttered to herself. To Sasori she said, "I promised Sasuke Uchiha I would protect his Naruto. I can't do that a thousand miles away in your workshop, no matter how soon you want to revert to a puppet again."

Sasori brushed aside the fact she knew he wanted to make the switch back to a puppet. She had brought up something he desperately needed to know, although it was none of his business what the beautiful young creature did with other people.

"Why did you go with him anyway?" Sasori demanded, sounding very much like a cross child.

Ryo's temper flared, he could see it in her incredible red eyes. "Because you really, _really_ pissed me off Sasori," she hissed, pulling her arm out of his grasp. Sasori had forgotten he was still holding her. "Because you make no sense sometimes. And because I needed a friend who doesn't keep me at arm's length for no apparent reason."

Before he could stop her again, Ryo simply vanished. Sighing, Sasori dropped to the floor and ran an aggravated hand through his red hair. "She's been a puppet for so long I forgot how fast she really is," he muttered randomly.

Running her last words through his head, Sasori growled in frustration. At himself and at her, but mostly at himself. "I must be twisted to love her," he sighed bleakly. Glancing about the cavern, Sasori saw the remnants of his hundred puppets. Jerking one with purple hair and three eyes over to himself, Sasori began talking to it.

"I raised her," he began nostalgically. The puppet settled, seemingly of its own accord, preparing for a long story. "From the time she was three until… well I suppose when she turned ten was when she became less my young ward and more my best friend. The only love I bore toward her was that of an older brother. She was my quirky, cute, bratty little sidekick.

"But then she turned sixteen. I remember the first time I saw her as more than a friend. It was the day after her sixteenth birthday party at the Akatsuki hideout," Sasori explained. He made the puppet nod, as if it understood what he was saying.

"She was cleaning up the living room streamers one minute, and the next she was gone. Poof, no more Ryo. I remember quirking a half-smile and then walking calmly out of the cliff to find her. I had known where she was," the former puppet chuckled. "I always knew where she was. On top of her plateau, gazing at the dew drops sparkling in the dawn sun. I remember wondering how she had managed to get to the center of the field without disturbing the rest of the grass, and then she turned and saw me.

"The smile she gave me put the sun to shame. Her eyes were bright with joy and not a little mischief, and her long red-purple hair glistened. She was so… alive. Vibrant. And then I realized two firsts: one, that my Ryo was the most beautiful thing my eyes would ever see. And two, it was the first time I felt a pang of sorrow at being a puppet.

"Ryo dashed over to my side, quick as lightning. She had seen my expression falter from that far away. She asked me if I was alright, and I told her I was fine. I asked her how she had liked her party. She smiled again and gave me a hug, wrapping her arms carefully around my weaponized waist. I put my arms around her shoulders. She said something into my shoulder along the lines of thanks, but I wasn't paying attention.

"All I could think of was that Ryo was hugging me, the same wonderfully alive creature I had just deemed perfect, and _I couldn't feel it._ I was a puppet. There was no warmth, no softness. The only indication I had that she was in my arms was the fact that I could see her," Sasori whispered, closing his eyes. He gave a self-deriding chuckle. Human contact, the very thing he shunned and became a puppet to never have to deal with, was the thing he had craved the most at that moment.

The purple haired puppet clicked, and Sasori took that as an invitation to continue. "I of course ran to Itachi immediately, demanding to know what was wrong with me. The bastard laughed at me and then said, 'Welcome to my world.' Then he walked off.

"When Ryo turned twenty she decided to turn herself into a puppet the same as me. She declined my help and locked herself in my workshop. Less than a week later she emerges, looking almost exactly the same. She had done a marvelous job," he added appreciatively. It was one of the things he loved about her: her puppetry was on par with his own and they could compete on the same level.

"By then I had drove the name of love to the strange feeling I harbored for her. I had also been steadily pulling away from her, helping play into the ditzy follower persona she had adopted. Truthfully, it was because I was a forty-year-old man forever trapped in the body of a twenty-year-old, lusting and loving after a beautiful young girl. I could have been her father, and I had practically raised her as such.

"Then she bound herself to me and ran off with that little Uchiha brat. Now she's made both of us human again and is dashing off after the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi to protect him and the Kazekage's corpse," he grumbled, then let out a bark of laughter. "Life with Ryo is never dull."

"But life itself is cruel. There must be an even more evil force than I out in the universe somewhere, conspiring against me. Someone who threw this beautiful, calculating, reckless, enchanting… this angel known as Ryo into my path and expected me to catch her. But I can't, and I won't let her know that I love her so entirely," Sasori declared firmly. The puppet nodded in agreement.

Turning his face to the sun, Sasori let out a sad sigh and released the puppet. "Besides, there's no reason to tell her something that is so morally wrong and twisted that it would make even her cringe away from me. I can survive so long as she's near me and well. That's all I have the right to ask for."

Ryo wove gracefully through the tree branches, almost seeming to fly. She reveled in the feeling of her muscles moving and flexing, of her lungs on fire with exertion. For the first time in three years, Ryo was enjoying doing something physical.

In a different part of her brain, a part she was trying to ignore by running faster, she was fuming over her conversation with Sasori. **How dare he think he can forbid me to do anything!** she thought angrily. **I brought him back to life! I made him human again!**

It was so nice to see him clothed in flesh once more. Now that she was actually old enough to enjoy the experience. Ryo had known that it would be Sasori she would love her entire life, in one way or another, since she had met him. And then he had to ruin seeing him again by being so damn obstinate and controlling!

Unbidden, her mind brought forth the feeling of his fingers wrapped around her wrist and the look in his eyes when she had stood so close to him. Then the words the threads had spoken to her danced through her head, making Ryo want to laugh and scream at the same time.

_He loves you. He's not angry about being human because he loves you. He thinks you're beautiful. He was jealous when you left with Sasuke Uchiha. He missed you. He's scared to have you leave his side now that you're both mortal. He doesn't want you hurt in anyway because he loves you. He thinks he's sick and twisted for loving you because he raised you. He thinks he's a monster for loving you. He thinks you would never love him back because it would be wrong. He loves you._

I apparently take up most of his thoughts, Ryo thought wryly.

Ryo stopped right at the edge of the trees, having come to a clearing. There sat Granny on the ground held by a crying Sakura. The Kazekage, whom she was seeing for the first time properly, stood with Naruto, their heads bowed in prayer. Fifty or so other Shinobi followed their example.

"What the hell are they doing?" Ryo muttered. They looked like idiots. Ryo tugged lightly on a thread she had connected to her Granny many, many years before. And the thread came loose.

Ryo gaped at the limp blue thread in her hand, utterly flabbergasted. She was a master puppeteer, the protégé of Sasori of the Red Sand himself. There was no reason for her thread to have slithered off Granny as it had.

Trying another more recent thread she achieved the same result. About to pull all of Granny's threads at once and drag the old woman to her hidden perch in a fit of anger, Ryo took a deep breath and paused. There was more than one way to achieve her ends.

Ryo applied the lightest amount of pressure possible to a thread connected to Sakura, who was still holding Granny. _She is sad. Very very very sad. Granny died. Kazekage Gaara came back to life. Granny used jutsu to bring him back at a great cost to herself. Chiyo is dead._

Ryo stared at the praying mass of people with new eyes. They were honoring Granny, in their own way. Ryo and Granny had expected for her to die, but it was still rather shocking to see the corpse of the woman who had brought her to Sasori on the ground and surrounded by strangers.

Shaking such macabre thoughts aside, Ryo stood up with purpose. Now was the perfect time to sneak into Suna, with the Kazekage and his siblings away. The town was in uproar, no doubt. Ryo's task was not done.

With one last glance at her dead grandmother, Ryo turned and sped through the trees once more.

What will happen now that our heros are human? Will they get together? What about Naruto and Sasuke? Will the Raven get his heart's desire? Tune in soon to see the unsatisfying next chapter of Ode of a Puppeteer!


	12. Chapter 12

Finally, chapter 12. I actually wrote this one after chapter 3 because I already knew how I wanted the story to go. Now I have to figure out where to go from here! =]

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo goes home to Suna, Gaara is perhaps the most observant person on the planet, and Naruto has to figure out if he loves Sasuke.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and in that one episode where Naruto captures Sasuke and then turns into him and tries to kiss Sakura but the sour milk and... yeah, you know what I'm talking about. (like, episode 2?) Well Naruto would have succeeded and realized Sakura was gross and we wouldn't have had to deal with all that stupidity later.

12

Ryo balanced gracefully on the windowsill of the Kazekage's office. There was a group of people inside the room, talking quietly. Even though Ryo wanted to make an entrance, she would be killed on sight if they saw her. It was best if only Gaara saw her first. After she was pardoned the rest of the world could do as they liked.

Sasori was going to be furious with her for defying his wishes and coming back home to Suna, but it didn't really matter. It would take him days to recover from his wounds and the shock of being human again. And then it would take even more time to come and find her. Ryo had enough time to get to know her 'cousin' and see the city before Sasori stormed Suna and dragged her back to the Akatsuki or wherever he was going to go.

Shaking her long purple-red hair back behind her impatiently, Ryo glared at the indistinct figures in the room. Did no one have a sense of decorum around here? Couldn't they mourn separately?

As if in answer to her question, the former Jinchuuriki's voice floated past her ear. "I think you all need to rest before returning to Konoha. Temari and Kankuro will show you to your rooms."

Ryo grinned. Family was great. She waited a few minutes until she was sure Gaara was alone, and then slid lithely through the window behind her cousin. From behind, he could almost be mistaken for Sasori. "Hello cousin," Ryo greeted as she perched lightly on the desk next to where Gaara was sitting.

Gaara gasped and rocked the chair backwards, falling on his back. "Akasuna no Ryo!" he gasped. Ryo chuckled at him. She offered a hand to help him up, but he refused it with a glare. "Pardon me if I don't take your hand. My brother is a puppet master, and I know what he can do with a touch. I shudder to think what would happen to me if you touched me," he practically spat. Gaara hauled himself back up and put the chair back. He stood behind it, looking defensive.

Ryo smiled wryly at him. "I'm sorry for our behavior to you, but I knew that you'd come back some how. But even if you didn't, think of it this way: you'd have made a lovely puppet."

"I should call for some one, but I'm not going to. I'm giving you the chance to go back to wherever you came from and never return here. I suggest you take it," he said dangerously. Ryo rolled her eyes.

"Is that how you talk to family?" she asked in mock hurt. Gaara narrowed his eyes at her. "We're cousins Gaara, even if only by adoption on my part. And I find you interesting. Not to mention that you bear a striking resemblance to my dearest Sasori." Gaara grimaced at that.

"I wouldn't know, we've never actually met," he growled.

Ryo pulled her legs up to sit cross-legged on the desk. "You'll meet him soon enough if I decide to stay a few days," she assured Gaara with a wistful smile. "He's very overprotective of me."

"What makes you think you are welcome in Suna? You have had a hand in the death of three Kazekages." His voice was so calm. Ryo almost snickered.

"I helped kill the third because I was young and wanted to please my 'master'. I don't regret it; the Third was one of our greatest pieces of work," Ryo smiled and her eyes glazed over briefly as she remembered. "I killed your father because he wanted to take me away from Sasori and allowed me to almost be raped when I was six."

Gaara gaped at her. Silence stretched between them. "He what?" the redhead finally demanded in a whisper.

Ryo smiled sadly at him. "The night of a thunderstorm. Two shinobi grabbed me and were about to rape me. Sasori found me and incapacitated them, and we dragged them to your father. He released them immediately because he wanted to anger Sasori. So we tracked them down the same night and killed them. It was also the night we left Suna," she explained.

Gaara stared at her with an unreadable expression for a long time. He then suddenly stepped foreword and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. No one ever knew why the two of you left. But that makes sense. Even Chiyo had said that Sasori valued you more than anything else in the world. My father-"

"Ancient history, Gaara," she interrupted him with an oddly comforting voice. It was like he was the one who had caused her pain and she was apologizing for it. "But yes, when the opportunity arose to kill your father, I jumped at the chance."

"I understand," he whispered. Gaara removed his hand and looked down at the ground. "I think I would have done the same."

_You really do understand._ "And then there was you," she smirked lightly, getting back on topic. Gaara's head snapped up. "Sasori was obligated to get the Ichibi. I was obligated to make sure he didn't die, among other things. I had a tiny puppet following Deidara and keeping your corpse safe, if that makes my case any better." Ryo shrugged and gave an open-handed palms-up gesture of surrender.

Gaara sighed and ran a hand through his fluffy red hair. "Against better judgment and the will of several people who would like to see you dead, I welcome you back to Sunakagure, the Village Hidden in the Sand," he sighed. Gaara closed his eyes and shook his head, like he couldn't believe what he was doing.

Ryo sprang off the desk and hugged her cousin tightly; Gaara froze. "You'll get used to that feeling eventually," she assured him as she clung to him.

Gaara shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "And what feeling is that?"

Ryo smiled sweetly at her younger cousin. "The one that makes you wonder how you got in this situation and how I ended up getting my way. There's no point in trying to fight it. I always get my way. It's a puppet master thing," Ryo assured him as she finally (to Gaara's relief) let go of him.

Gaara rolled his eyes. "Sasori isn't remembered for his patience," he informed her. "I wonder how he managed to put up with you for almost thirty years."

Ryo stuck her tongue out at him and was about to reply when the door to the Kazekage's office was flung open and the two older Sabaku siblings walked in laughing. "Gaara, you won't believe what Naru did," Kankuro chuckled. "He- what's she doing here!?!" He yelled the last part and pointed at Ryo.

"Gaara, get behind us," Temari ordered. She grabbed Gaara and pulled him behind her, not really giving him a choice in the matter. To Ryo she demanded, "What do you want? How many times do you plan on killing him?"

Ryo smirked. "Well Temari, my favorite female cousin, Gaara was just welcoming me back to Suna," she said calmly. Temari glared, not buying it. "Ask him." Ryo held up her hands in a sign of peace. Again.

Temari glanced behind her. "Is that true Gaara?" she asked tersely.

Gaara shot an annoyed look at Ryo before answering. "Yes, she is welcome here. It's the least we can do to make up for our father's actions against her and her… what _was_ Sasori to you?" the Kazekage asked, slightly perplexed.

"He was just Sasori," she replied with a shrug. Gaara nodded in understanding; some people in your life just **are**.

Temari straightened up out of the defensive pose she had been in. "You mean the rape incident," she said bluntly. "Granny told me about it."

Gaara stared at her in disbelief. "Does no one tell the Kazekage anything?" he muttered. Kankuro slapped him on the back affectionately.

"I'm curious," Kankuro stated as they all relaxed. Gaara was behind his desk, Temari and Kankuro were on the sofa, and Ryo sat sideways in an armchair, her feet dangling over the arm. "What would you have done if we had attacked?"

Ryo grinned evilly. A flick of her wrist pulled Gaara foreword over the desk into an attack stance. Sand pooled around him, ready and waiting. "This," she said with exaggerated simplicity.

Kankuro gaped openly at her. Ryo let Gaara go and put him back behind his desk before Temari could get into a hissy fit. "I knew I shouldn't have let you hug me…" Gaara grumbled. Ryo didn't tell him she had attached the strings while he was dead; the less he knew, the better he would sleep.

Kankuro was still in awe. "You can use a person's natural abilities when you control them!" he squealed like an annoying fan girl. "That is so cool! No wonder Sasori of the Red Sand took you as an apprentice at such a young age." Admiration was shining in his eyes.

Ryo rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm great. Now, will some one show me to a room before I fall asleep here?" she demanded, failing to stifle a yawn.

Ryo lay on her back on a very nice bed in a room somewhere in the Kazekage's guest quarters. With her arms clasped behind her head and legs crossed at the ankle, she looked to be the very image of repose.

Gaara had thought it best if he was the one to announce to the Leaf shinobi that she was pardoned. It might be taken better. Ryo agreed; Sakura was physically too strong to piss off in Ryo's new flesh and blood body.

The sun was setting, throwing splashes of red and orange fire across the walls of her room. Ryo sighed, utterly content.

There was a knock at her door. With a lazy flick of her wrist, Ryo opened it with a thread. There stood Naruto, looking nervous.

"Come in," Ryo beckoned as she sat up. Some part of her had been expecting this. It was better to get it over with sooner than later.

Naruto walked in and closed the door behind himself. Taking a seat in the chair across from Ryo, he took a deep breath. "Gaara says you've been pardoned," he told her quietly. Ryo nodded. "You promised you would explain."

Even without her threads Ryo could feel the confusion radiating off of the poor blond. "So I did and so I shall," she replied. Naruto looked up from the floor into her eyes, waiting. "I am not a member of the Akatsuki. I am the… companion of Sasori of the Red Sand. He raised me after my parents were killed.

"One day, just last week, he made me angry. I ran away from the Akatsuki hideout and worked myself into a frenzy. Another presence came into my meadow. I thought it was my friend Itachi, but it was Sasuke Uchiha. He-"

"You've seen Sasuke!" Naruto demanded almost falling out of his seat. Ryo gave him a pointed look and he sat back quietly, though it was obviously a strain for him.

"Sasuke took me with him to where he lives and let me stay there. Then we received word that Sasori was hunting Gaara, and that you were sure to follow. Sasuke implored me to come and make sure you didn't get hurt, no matter the cost. I agreed and set out for Suna. You know the rest, really," Ryo explained kindly. What would Sasuke say about her telling Naruto his feelings? It didn't particularly matter; Ryo planned on telling Naruto anyway.

Naruto sat in contemplative silence for a time, staring at the ground between his feet. Rather than waste the time with boredom, Ryo opened to the strings she had attached to the blonde Jinchuuriki. _He's confused. He is happy that Sasuke is okay and cares about him. He is sad that Sasuke still won't come home. He is angry with you for seeing Sasuke when he could not, but he knows he shouldn't feel that way toward you. Naruto is confused._

A feeling of understanding tried to well up in Ryo, but she quelled it. Her and Sasori were different than what was between Sasuke and Naruto. There was no reason to feel empathy.

"What happened between you and Sasori?" Naruto asked suddenly, his head snapping up from its morose position to stare at her intently.

Ryo was taken aback. Here the blonde boy sat, confuse and somewhat angry with her, and he wanted to know how she was feeling? "I love him," she answered simply, still stunned. "And he loves me. But Sasori is twenty years older than me and raised me, so he thinks it's sick to want me like he does. It gets to be rather infuriating."

"How do you know you love him? Or that he loves you?"

Ryo turned and looked at the now set sun, throwing its last ribbons of dark purple across the sky, and smiled dazzlingly. "I have known that I loved him since I was very small," she answered, her voice holding an ancient yearning and happiness. "The love hasn't gone, it simply changed over the years. And I know he loves me because every thing he says and every gesture he makes proves it over and over, whether he admits it to me or not."

The look Naruto gave her was so puzzled that she had to laugh. It didn't take mind reading chakra threads to see what he was thinking. "There are many ways to love, Naruto. You might not realize it as immediately as I did, or you might mistake it for something else. But it is there, and it is one of the most powerful feelings you will ever know. Believe me when I tell you that Sasuke loves you utterly; now it is up to you to figure out what he means to you."

Her words had an obvious effect on Naruto. He looked a little less troubled, though she had given him much more to think on. With a smile, Naruto stood and drew Ryo into his arms for a friendly hug.

"Naruto, you are truly one of a kind," she informed him seriously.

Ryo found herself lying in a field of lavender morning glories. The sky was painted with scarlet, indigo, and royal purple. The sun was setting and the moon was beginning its nightly dominion over the skies. Twilight, her favorite time of day. Stars shimmered infront of her like points of cold fire in the sky.

Suddenly she was on her feet, staring at a red morning glory that bloomed slowly at her feet. The blossom became full, and she bent to it with out knowing why. She kissed the bloom tenderly, and stroked its tendril vines. They wrapped about her finger, planting roots in her skin. The flower, once pure red, became a muddier shade, distorted by purple until it resembled the color of her hair.

"Ryo," a quiet voice called, seeming to be from a long distance away. Dragging her eyes from the flower, she looked up at the sky. The moon was setting, and the stars were gone.

Snapping her eyes open, Ryo saw Gaara standing over her. "Time to wake up," he told her calmly.

Ryo sat up, stretching like a cat. It was still a marvel to her to have muscles that flexed and contracted. "What time is it?" she asked as she rolled out of bed. The sun wasn't up yet, but there was a bare amount of light in the sky. A glance at her wardrobe made her grimace; she hadn't bothered changing to sleep, simply because she had nothing to change into. Now she had nothing for the day to wear.

As if reading her mind, Gaara pointed to a package on the desk. "Clothes," he told her. Then, seeing her amused look, he continued, "Temari picked them out. You must hurry. There is a small service being held at Elder Chiyo's grave. And as for your question, it's five in the morning."

Gaara exited quickly so Ryo could change in private. Opening the package with a kunai, Ryo gently slid the black silk clothing from the wrapping. It was beautiful. A long, black yukata intricately embroidered with metallic purple/red threads in the design of thin vines that swirled tightly together. Slipping it on as quickly as she could, Ryo delighted in how it shimmered in the sun. A pair of chunky blank heels had been in the package as well. After putting them on, Ryo strode confidently out the door. Pretty clothes had always been a passion of hers.

She was of course the last to arrive at the grave. Only the Leaf Shinobi and Sand Siblings were present. They turned to her in unison, sad expression on each and every face. No one spoke.

Ryo didn't quite know what was expected of her. She had never been to a funeral before. Winging it, she walked up and stood directly infront of the grave. "My grandmother was many things," she began quietly. All eyes were on her still form as she placed a hand gently on the grave marker. "Witty, sharp, and mischievous. Granny was the sun on the sand and the breeze through the desert. She was also the crack of thunder and the cry of an eagle. Bright and harsh, gentle and fierce. The world itself weeps at her passing.

"But she gave her life so that others, those with a spirit as untamable as hers, might go forth and lead this land into a greater place than where she left it," Ryo declared proudly. Turning around to face the crowd, she continued in a whisper. "It was not only our Kazekage she died for. It was for you, Naruto. And you Sakura. Temari, Kankuro, the three Leaf ninja we met on this quest, and even Sasuke. Your generation truly has the will of fire.

"The Will of Fire is not specific to Konoha. It is in all those who have the courage and love to do what must be done. Chiyo had it, and her death is a beacon. A beacon for all of us. Darkness is rising, and Granny has put it in your hands not to beat the darkness back, but to guide it. To guide the evil back to the light and show it where it fell astray.

"So do not stand at her grave and cry. Her death, like her life, was done in the way of all puppet masters: fully in her own control. So if Chiyo willed it, what right have you to be unhappy?"

Silence reigned supreme for several minutes as her words were contemplated. It was Naruto who finally spoke, with such profound words that even Ryo was impressed. "All things pass in their time. But love and friendship remain eternal. I guess that if Granny had a reason behind it all, we shouldn't question it. What I do know is that we can't let Granny down if she really did die for everybody like Ryo says she did."

Sakura began sobbing quietly into Kakashi's shoulder. Temari and Kankuro exchanged grave glances behind Gaara's back.

Ryo suddenly felt alienated, a strange thing for one who could so easily assimilate to any situation. She had no shoulder to cry on, no sibling to have a perfect understanding with. One of her family lay dead infront of her, and the other was no doubt carving himself into a new indestructible body. In that moment, Ryo realized she had to leave Suna again. It was enough to almost make the puppet master teary-eyed.

Then Gaara stepped foreword and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder. In another show of his perfect understanding of Ryo, the redhead implored quietly, "Stay here. With us. You need a home, Ryo, a real home. And we would be honored for you to share ours."

Ryo nodded, unable to talk. For the time being, she would stay. At least until she had a direction to head in. Besides, family sounded really good for the first time in over a decade.

And so begins the next arc of our story...


	13. Chapter 13

Here we are at chapter 13 where if you squint, you might be able to see the elusive plot… I'd have gotten this up sooner, but we're in the middle of TechWeek for a musical: Rodger and Hammerstein's _The Sound of Music_. Hell on earth. Not to mention I got sun burn behind my knees and now can't walk much for a couple days. Enough of my pity party. Here's the episode.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo likes silk clothes and hates meetings, Naruto and Sakura aren't that bad, Gaara is amazing, and Kankuro might get some.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and there would be a more adequate explanation for the scar on Iruka's nose.

13

"And so there we were, Sasori and I, waiting in the dark for the two… I don't even have a word vulgar enough to describe them," Ryo told her captive audience. Naruto, Sakura, and Kankuro sat at her feet like children, listening to the miraculous tale of her escape from Suna.

"The men rounded the corner in pure terror, not knowing if we were hidden in the shadows, waiting. We were of course. Sasori stepped out of the darkness with the Third Kazekage. They didn't even notice when I pulled out my favorite puppet. We killed them quickly and left the very same night," Ryo concluded with a grand gesture. Sure, she had to edit some parts of the story, and she could never reveal the puppet she used, but the story was otherwise accurate.

Naruto gazed up at her with wonder, not fear as she had expected. When they had asked to hear the story of her departure, Ryo was hesitant. What if they, her new family, thought her a monster? It was worth the risk though, if only for the look in Naruto's eyes.

"So you were raped?" Sakura asked, her voice dripping with concern and not a little hate. Hate for the kind of people who do that to children.

Ryo shook her head with a half-smile. "No," she replied. "And I thank the gods for that everyday. I was only slightly molested. And let's face it, most people face that much in highschool on a daily basis!"

Kankuro chuckled, as Ryo knew he would. It was surprising how much she had grown to love Temari and Kankuro. Temari was a mean bitch, but she had a sweet side that was just as potent if you knew how to get at it. Kankuro was simply hilarious, whether he meant to be or not. Other than his witty remarks, Kankuro was just as oblivious as Naruto.

Ryo sat back to observe Sakura and Naruto as they spoke animatedly about her tale. It was strange, the feeling of having friends that were so open and trusting. Not that she would trade Itachi for the world, but Ryo held a special place in her heart for her Konoha friends. After being welcomed into the Sabaku house three days prior, Ryo already felt at home with Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi. There was a deep desire in her heart to meet their friends back in the Leaf village, which came as a surprise to her.

But perhaps the greatest part of her new life was Gaara. So far, the only person who knew Ryo better than Gaara did was Sasori. But since Saso was being an idiot, he didn't count. Gaara knew every thought than ran through her head it seemed, and understood them. He was a silent companion, more apt to raise an eyebrow than to actually smile. But he had his own quirky sense of humor that Ryo adored, and that made her forgive his lack of emotion.

Ryo knew Gaara didn't actually lack emotion. He showed it in smaller ways than most people, in the small gestures he made. But it was there, and Ryo didn't need her threads to know what was going through is thoughts.

"I'm hungry!" Naruto declared, rousing Ryo from her musings. As if to accentuate his point, Naruto's stomach growled. "I wish there was an Ichiraku in Suna."

Kankuro jumped to his feet. "We have something better than ramen," he informed Naruto with a grin. Naruto was of course dubious that anything could be better than ramen, but Ryo squealed in delight.

"You mean Tokiwa's?"

Kankuro laughed as he pulled his cousin to her feet. "Yes, Tokiwa's. I keep forgetting that you lived here," he admitted ruefully. For Ryo's edification he continued, "Tokiwa doesn't run it any more but Tora, her granddaughter, keeps the restaurant going."

A tiny slip of information from the threads made Ryo grin evilly. "You're sweet on this Tora girl, aren't you Kankuro?" she asked mischievously, her red eyes twinkling.

Kankuro, turning a bit pink, didn't deign to answer.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Not for the first time on his long and bothersome journey, Sasori wondered why he was even bothering. If Ryo wanted to run back home to Suna and live happily ever after with the Kazekage and his little friends, who was he to argue?

Their last conversation rang in his ears, each of her words falling like a stone. "_Because you really, really pissed me off Sasori," she hissed, pulling her arm out of his grasp. "Because you make no sense sometimes. And because I needed a friend who doesn't keep me at arm's length for no apparent reason."_

With a growl, Sasori tried to force the words away. There was a reason he kept her at arms' length. But if she knew, that would defeat the whole purpose of keeping her away so she wouldn't know!

A hawk shrieked over head. Sasori glanced up at the sky. It was almost noon. With any luck, he would reach Suna by one o'clock. All he would have to do then was sneak in, find Ryo, convince her to come back with him, and continue on with his miserable existence of keeping her shut out.

"Why must my life be so complicated?" he whined to the sand that whirled about lazily. "Why am I so twisted in loving such a powerfully willed woman?"

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"I love this FOOD!" Naruto declared as he polished off his third cheeseburger. Ryo chuckled at the ketchup-covered blonde. "It's almost as good as Ichiraku!"

Tora, their host, smiled indulgently at him. "I'm glad you like it," she said. "We're the only American food restaurant in town, probably in all the nations. You're lucky 'Kuro thought to bring you here."

"Kuro," Ryo snickered, earning a death glare from her cousin. Turning to Tora she complemented, "It's just as good as when I was a little girl. I'm sorry about your grandmother's death, though. Tokiwa was kind to me when all the others were terrified. Granny used to take Sasori and I here for icecream."

Tora nodded solemnly. "My grief to yours, then. Elder Chiyo was a good woman and a valued customer."

Tokiwa had died the week before Ryo arrived back in Suna, leaving Tora in charge of the business. Tora was up to the challenge though, living up to her name 'tiger'. With orange hair and emerald eyes, Tora was beautiful and graceful. She had also been a ninja, but gave it up to help her grandmother. It was no wonder Kankuro was smitten with her.

"Tora, you never cease to amaze me," Kankuro declared as he sat back from his cheese steak sandwich. "The food is divine and you are a wonder."

Tora gave him an ironic smile. "And what does a ninja know about good food?" she asked playfully.

While the friends laughed, simply enjoying each other's company, a little girl dashed through the open door panting. In her hands she clutched a piece of parchment. "Is there a Akasuna no Ryo here?" the girl's high voice rang out timidly.

"That would be me," Ryo informed her kindly. Poor girl. It had to be her first message delivery. The little girl handed Ryo the note and fled out the door.

Ryo scanned the note quickly, then groaned. "I HATE meetings!" she whined as she slammed her head down on the table.

Sakura plucked the note from Ryo's hand and read it aloud.

_Akasuna no Ryo,  
__Your attendance is requested at an ad hoc council meeting tonight. The topic of concern is you and your guardian Sasori. More information shall be given when you arrive._

_Respectfully,  
__Naoko Mihara_

"Since when does Elder Naoko do anything respectfully?" Tora asked dubiously. She eyed the letter suspiciously. Even though she had chosen to follow a path other than that of a ninja, Tora still knew what an impending ambush felt like.

Ryo was eyeing the letter as well. "I was not partial to Naoko when I was young, and I have a feeling that our relations will not have improved with time," Ryo said ominously. She still remembered the looks of hatred Naoko, her schoolteacher, had given her as a child.

"Why didn't Gaara just tell you about this meeting at breakfast?" Sakura asked, concern permeating her entire demeanor. "Or why didn't he send the letter himself?"

"That's what I want to know," Kankuro agreed darkly. "Naoko is a manipulative woman, who has held a grudge against Sasori for years. No one knows why she hates him, and by proxy you. But you have to be careful Ryo."

Naruto nodded, his eyes fierce. "I don't think you should go to this meeting alone," he practically ordered. Ryo was touched by their concern for her, but it wasn't really necessary.

No one had held sway over the puppet masters before her, Sasori and Chiyo. And no one would be able to have Ryo do anything without her consent and approval, neither of which she would give easily. And if all else failed, Ryo would resort to the oldest puppet master trick in the book: breaking everything in the room.

"I'll go with her," Kankuro assured the others. He discretely wrapped an arm around Tora, and Ryo fought the urge to gag. "And Gaara will be there as well."

The mood was getting too melancholy for Ryo's taste, so she changed the subject entirely. "Well, I want to go shopping before the meeting. Temari's clothes are nice, but 'The Ho-Bag of Suna' isn't really to my taste," she declared dryly.

Kankuro snorted at the description of his sister. "Yeah, I get it," he agreed. "But I don't want to go look at girl stuff. Naruto, you want to go kick some little kids out of the arcade?"

"Do I ever!" Naruto yelled, leaping from his seat. The two ninja walked out of the restaurant, scheming and dreaming like little boys. It was kind of cute.

Sakura rolled her eyes at her long time friend's antics. Looking over at Ryo she said, "I'll come shopping with you. If I don't bring Ino and Lady Tsunade back something from this mission they'll skin me. Tora? You want to come?"

The tigress shook her head. "I've got to stay with the shop," she informed them regretfully. In a brighter tone she continued, "But I have tomorrow off, so maybe then."

With a wave and a smile to their new friend, the pink haired girl and the puppet master walked lazily out of the shop. With good food in their bellies and the sun hot overhead, it was a perfect time for a little relaxed shopping.

The Artisans' Market was only a few streets away from Tokiwa's. Ever since she was a little girl the colors and sounds of the Artisans' Market had delighted Ryo. All those years later and they still didn't disappoint. There were stalls and carts and shops all down the road, selling everything from textiles to glass. Everyone who had a trade in Suna sold their wares on this street.

Sakura was pleasantly shocked at the sight of this daily bazaar. "It's like the Craftsman's Quarter in Konoha," she told Ryo as they walked along. "We have jewelers, metal smiths, potters, weavers and sewers, even a few wood carvers. No glass blowers though." A mournful glance at a man shaping a glass unicorn as they passed told Ryo that Sakura would very much like something made of glass.

Near the middle of the Market was the Textile Sector. This is where all clothing and cloth was sold. Ryo took a perfunctory glance at the few carts filled with bolts of cloth, but what she needed was actual clothes. A gasp from Sakura made her turn around. Behind them was a shop filled with the kind of clothing Ryo adored: silk.

Entering the shop, they noticed immediately that the roar from outside was reduced to a low din. The shop was practically empty. An elderly woman sat behind the counter reading an old novel, and that was it. No customers.

"Good afternoon, seamstress," Ryo greeted politely. The old woman's head snapped up, a scowl firmly engraved on her face.

"And what do you want?" she snapped. Her voice was whispery, like old parchment. "Unless you plan to buy something, get out. No young people come in here anymore."

Ryo smiled at the elderly lady. "I may seem young, but I am ancient in treachery," she informed the shopkeeper. Her eyes narrowed, and Ryo continued, "Silk is the best material for the clothing of shinobi. It is strong, yet breathes easy and dries quickly. What better material could be used? And where better to buy silk clothes than from Lady Banshou?"

The old woman cracked a smile. "I don't know how it could be, but welcome Ryo," Banshou said with a joyous laugh. "No one but a puppet master could make such a speech."

Sakura looked lost. "Ryo, you know this place? And this elder?" she asked with a respectful nod to the old woman.

"This is where I shopped as a girl," the puppeteer explained fondly. "I spent many hours in the company of Lady Banshou, a friend of my Granny's."

"Many hours looking through my bolts and clothes, seeing what she liked and what she didn't. This was the only place she would buy clothes," Banshou said with a happy sigh, seeming to see the past instead of what was happening at that moment. Shaking her head, the woman looked at Sakura. "What are your clothes made of?" she demanded as she stood and walked over to them.

"C-cotton," Sakura stammered as Banshou walked around her, poking and prodding a bit. "It's what all shinobi wear in Konoha."

"Konoha?" Banshou asked, eyebrow raised. Ryo giggled. "Humid country, if I recall. Lots of trees. Perfect for silkworms. It's a wonder your people haven't got the whole city in silk." A tape measure appeared out of no where and was wrapped around Sakura's waist, hips, and bust as she stood there helplessly.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in a whirlwind of silk. Sakura had placed an order (at the command of Banshou) for three sets of silk clothes exactly like the ones she already wore. She had also managed to get a black dress for Ino and a forest green silk bathrobe for Lady Tsunade.

Ryo on the other hand favored number of fine clothes. A dark purple yukata with hand embroidered red butterflies, a red dress with black frogs (the clasp, not the animal), and a emerald green pair of pants covered in a light dusting of black clouds were among the notable things in her bag.

All too soon it was time for Ryo to head for the dreaded meeting. Parting with Sakura at the door to her room, Ryo slipped inside the quiet sanctity that had become hers. Gaara had moved her from the guest quarters to a room separate from the others in the building. All that was inside her room was a huge bed, an armoire, and a writing desk, but it felt homey.

Placing her four bags gently on the bed, she rummaged about in them for the outfit she had bought especially for that night.

"Aha!" she murmured triumphantly. Out of the bag she pulled a Vietnamese ao dai. The over tunic was royal purple with red metallic oriental embroidery. The pants were dark red and loose, as was the long sleeve shirt under the tunic.

Slipping them on quickly, Ryo admired herself in the mirror. The only things Ryo loved in the world more than silk clothes were her puppets and Sasori. Their pure beauty and elegance simply enchanted her, touching a part of her soul that craved beauty which puppets, for all their wonder, could not satisfy.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Akasuna no Ryo," Gaara greeted as she entered the meeting room. Around the large table sat shinobi of various ages, from their 17 year old Kazekage to a man who appeared to be 90. They all stared at her, making Ryo feel momentarily like an exhibit in a freak show.

Get a hold of yourself, she thought to herself disgustedly. If ever there was a time to be the haughty, brilliant, stubborn young woman that Sasori raised, it's now. Ryo gave the room a once over, looking every person directly in the eye, waiting to see what they were going to do.

"No insolent remarks?" an older woman rasped, her voice high and reedy. "No puppet tricks?" The look she gave Ryo would have peeled skin off stone, but Ryo had expected it. No one could muster the hate that old bitch was emanating except Naoko.

"If I waned to be berated by you, Naoko, I would have stayed in the academy," Ryo drawled boredly. To the rest of the council she said politely, but firmly, "I was under the impression that this was ad hoc. To the point, literally. Either state the business you have with me or let me leave."

Naoko slammed her fist on the table, making some of the council jump. "This is what I spoke of!" she wheezed, still glaring at Ryo. It was amazing how the old biddy could hate a person so entirely, a person she had known for less than a week twenty years prior. "She is rude, cunning, and not fit to return to this society!"

Ryo laughed a long, mirthless laugh that rang unpleasantly through the ears of those in the room. "What lies have been sowed in my absence," she chuckled mirthlessly. All her laughter abruptly stopped. "I am not the child you knew, Naoko. I am a puppet master in my own right and will receive the respect I am due as such."

"There are many puppet masters," a middle aged man informed her, waving her comment off. "Kankuro here is one. Tell her Kankuro. It doesn't take much to be a puppet master."

Only Ryo saw the flash of anger in Kankuro's eyes before he stood, but she was the only one. "I'm called a puppet master, but compared to Elder Chiyo, Sasori of the Red Sand, and Ryo I am a beginner. Ryo can control other people and use their abilities entirely. She can turn a corpse into a puppet and have it retain the skills it had when the person was alive. I've even seen her use the Kazekage and his sand like a puppet," Kankuro said with a brisk gesture at Gaara, who nodded. The council was shocked to hear that their own Kazekage had been put under Ryo's spell, but Kankuro continued doggedly. "Yeah, they call me a puppet master. But Ryo is more like a puppet goddess."

"Thank you, Kankuro," Gaara said as his brother sat. To the rest of the room he continued, "Are there any concerns other than Elder Naoko's?"

Silence met his question. Kankuro had apparently convinced them of Ryo's power without the need of a demonstration. Ryo studied the faces of those around the table carefully, watching for any trace of anything. Not knowing what she was there for, Ryo did not know what to be wary of.

"We are here because there have been several concerns about you being welcomed back to Suna," Gaara began quietly. Ryo kept her attention only on Gaara. To show any of the people assembled there what she was truly thinking would be both disastrous and, in her opinion, an insult to the grandmother who had raised to be what she was.

"Concerns is a mild way to put it, Lord Kazekage," a woman only a few years older than Ryo chimed in. The woman directed her gaze at Ryo. "We're afraid of what will happen if we allow you back into the city. You've had so much contact with the Akatsuki and others like them that you might have picked up some, let's call them 'bad habits'. We don't want you behaving like them in Suna."

"Then there is the matter of Sasori himself," Baki rumbled unhappily from his seat. Ryo almost snickered at how silly her childhood friend looked, but managed to keep it to herself. There would be time for mockery later. "He might come looking for you. We can't risk letting him in the city."

Naoko of course felt the need to put her two cents in. "And of course, there is your own reproachable behavior," the old woman wheezed snidely. It was official; something very bad was going to happen to that woman very _very_ soon. "Arrogance, misuse of the skills of a shinobi, not to mention you killed three Kazekage. How do you explain that?"

Whispers fluttered around the room. She killed three Kazekage? How is that possible? Why did our Lord Kazekage grant her clemency? Tension and fear percolated the air, making Ryo want to shake some sense into all of the idiots she was trapped in a room with, but she refrained.

Instead she tried to calmly explain. "I helped Sasori kill the Third when I was four. I wanted to make Sasori proud of me, and it was a valuable experience in puppet making. I helped kill the last one because he allowed two men who tried to rape me go free. And I allowed Gaara to be killed simply because Chiyo and I had already planned to bring him back to life.

"So let's put those explanations in their most simple forms: I was young and was devoted to my guardian, I wanted revenge, and I planned on reviving him. Those are valid reasons to me. And none of them were even killed becausethey were Kazekage. The Third had a desired puppet ability. The next was simply out of revenge for a past action. And Gaara was because he was a Bijuu. In my mind, I assisted in the death of three people, not three Kazekages.

"But this is getting off the main topic, which I wish someone would kindly explain to me plainly. No word games, no power plays, no undue hatred," the puppet master growled in conclusion.

It took a few moments for any one to speak. They were utterly stunned. This girl had just admitted to killing three of their beloved Kazekage like it was nothing. Maybe to her it was.

Finally, Kankuro opened his mouth to answer her question. "They want to know if it's safe to let you back in Suna," Kankuro explained. Ryo opened her mouth to retort that, yes, she understood that, but the other puppeteer raised his hand for her to be quiet. "They don't want you to start killing people all willy-nilly. And they really don't want Sasori storming the city to get you back. Gaara and I told them to stop being stupid, but Naoko insisted."

And now things became clearer. Naoko wanted something from her. The question was, what did the old bitch want?

"I say that we throw her out in the desert," Naoko suggested harshly, glaring around the room to rally support. She received none. "Look at how she's dressed. It is entirely disrespectful attire to wear to a meeting of this kind! I for one am-"

"A lying old bitch," Ryo cut in coldly. Naoko jerked back in surprise, but Ryo continued. "You have to resort to picking at my clothes in hopes to get me kicked out? Pathetic. In all of the cities I have visited there has been one common law: if the kage has declared it, it shall not be questioned."

"And you've been to so many hidden cities," someone chuckled. "I have a daughter your age."

"I have been to Iwagakure, Amegakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure. I'm told that is how it is done in Konohagakure as well. It was how things were done in Suna, a very long time ago," she snapped, directing a glare at the younger ninjas. The older members were nodding in agreement; they remembered the old days. "And therefore I demand, as is my right as member of one of the oldest families in Suna and as the Kazekage's cousin, that the Kazekage either pardon me and let the decree be known and obeyed, or have me removed from this city for ever."

There was a rustle as the council moved to whisper amongst themselves. Ryo had kept the pathway of threads between herself and Kankuro closed out of some sense of fair play, but her temper was rising. If things were about to go badly, she wanted to be prepared. That, and she needed to know if it was necessary to start breaking things. Ryo opened the connection.

_Kankuro is impressed that you just did that. He was worried about you. He thinks you'll be pardoned. He thinks that this was a pointless thing to do. Kankuro is hungry. He didn't eat dinner. Kankuro hopes that Tokiwa's is still open so he can eat. He wants to flirt with Tora._

Ryo closed that connection with a mental shake of her head. Leave it to Kankuro to go from worrying about her, to worrying about his stomach, to finally having daydreams about his love life. Obviously she would get no useful information out of him. Hopefully Gaara would be of more use.

_Gaara thinks it was brilliant how you put the decision in his hands only. He already pardoned you, so he thinks there is no reason to do it again. Gaara thinks you're brilliant. He also thinks that your attire is completely appropriate for a meeting and that you look lovely. Gaara is about to announce that you are free to go with his blessing. He wants you to meet him on the rooftop afterward._

Ryo severed the connection, puzzled. It was almost like Gaara had known that she could get in his head. But she had never told him that.

"Ryo," Gaara said, drawing her mind out of the realm of possibilities. "You are free to go. As I said before, welcome home to Sunagakure."

Ryo gave him a brief smile and strode dramatically out the door. _**And I didn't even need to break anything**_, she thought with a chuckle.

Believe it or not, the entire plot for this entire fic will be revealed in the next episode. Stay tuned!


	14. Chapter 14

Greetings, earthlings! The long awaited chapter 14 has finally arrived. We had the show last weekend and then my computer got a virus and then I had a research report due and life just got in the way. But I'm back for now! Due to the virus, this chapter wasn't proof read as well as I would have liked. So don't hate upon me for it. Also, **bold print** is what Sasori wants. _Italic print_ is what he thinks he should do, aka the 'right thing'. And **_bolded Italic underline_** is what happens when they are in agreement. It's an easier way of differentiating his interior monologue. Just so you know.

A super thank you to iceyxrain00 for her comment about how Ryo needs some humanity. I have this really bad habit of making my main characters (which are always girls, oddly) practically omnipotent. Never fear though! There is a reason Ryo is human again! I do actually have a plan for her to have her ass whooped! Well, sort of. Just keep reading.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: The plot arrives, along with Sasori.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Neji and Hinata making babies would not be considered incest (as in they would find some way to not be related [adoption, aliens] and have pretty little babies, not just ignore that whole family thing).

14

The wind blew lightly around Ryo as she stood atop a large building watching the moonrise. Her hair played across her face gently, not enough to make her want to brush it aside. A storm was brewing. Ryo could see the clouds coming in fast across the desert.

"I wasn't entirely sure that you would be up here," a soft voice said from behind her. "I was hoping that you would, but I wasn't sure if I was right. You can read minds, can't you?"

Ryo turned to face her cousin, a small smile playing on her lips. "Not read minds exactly," she corrected. Stepping aside so Gaara could join her at the rail she was leaning against, the puppet master explained, "The threads I have attached to you tell me everything about you. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. It gives me a finer control over anyone I command."

Gaara nodded and stared out over the city for a long time. Ryo on the other hand looked at the clouds rolling across the sky. The rain would be upon them soon.

"Naoko is out to get you," Gaara told her, quietly angry. Ryo didn't know why he was angry; it was her problem, not his. "She wanted you either killed or banished."

"Lucky for me I'm the Kazekage's cousin," Ryo joked. Gaara turned his gaze to her and gave her a withering look, but she refused to feel abashed. "Why is she out to get me?"

"It's not you, really," Gaara explained slowly. "It's Sasori through you. No one knows what he did to her, but she has an intense hatred for him."

Ryo stared out into the night and saw that the rain was sweeping through the city. A wall of rain was moving steadily toward them. As soon as it hit, Ryo let out a joyous cry and lifted her face to the downpour. A peal of thunder wracked her body, leaving her with a giddy feeling. _Why can't I just be left alone to enjoy the storm? It seems that all my misfortunes come in the wake of an enjoyable storm._

Gaara, from the protective cover of his sand umbrella, gaped discretely at his 'cousin'. She was soaked to the bone and being threatened by one of the most powerful elders in Suna, yet Ryo had never seemed happier in the short time he had known her than when she basked beneath the storm.

"Gaara," she said, turning her attention from the storm to him once more. A flicker of amusement went across her face at the sight of the sand umbrella, but she continued with only a little mirth. "I'm touched by your concern. But I'll be fine. I won't be here long anyway. A few weeks at most."

The Kazekage reeled back in shock. "But where will you go?" he demanded. What was wrong with Ryo staying in Suna? With him and Temari and Kankuro, forever?

As if she could read his thoughts, which it occurred to him that she could, Ryo sighed. "I love it here with you and your siblings," she told him sadly. Lightning flashed above them, illuminating her morose expression. "But I need to find Sasori. And I have other friends. Itachi and Deidara and others who I miss. Suna will always be my home, but my place is with Sasori. No matter where he is. Even if I would rather be here."

"But we love you," Gaara insisted, though he knew he had already lost the argument. "We appreciate you. There are those in Suna who have missed you, like Lady Banshou. Would you really leave us again?"

"Yes, she would," a calmly bored voice said from behind them. Gaara whirled around into a defensive position, but Ryo simply turned and rolled her eyes at the dark figure silhouetted against the darker sky.

"You couldn't leave me well enough alone," Ryo growled as the thunder rumbled. "You couldn't just let me do this in my own time and in my own way."

"Not so long as you're human," the voice replied. His tone was that of one trying to explain something obvious to a child.

Ryo's scowl deepened. "You are human as well," she snapped. "I wonder why?"

Gaara opened his mouth to demand what was going on, but a flash of lightning spoke more than any explanation could. Sasori of the Red Sand stood before them, looking like a drowned red rat. "I don't believe we've met," Gaara drawled instead.

Sasori snorted at his fellow redhead. "Not that you'd remember," he agreed. "But I'm not here to play nice with you, Kazekage. I'm here for Ryo."

Gaara glared daggers at him. "And if Ryo doesn't want to go with you?"

But Ryo does, she thought pathetically. I want to go with him. Gaara just didn't know Sasori the way she did. All Gaara knows of Saso is that Sasori killed him, and there's so much more to him than that one act.

"Gaara," she said quietly. The Kazekage turned and looked at her helplessly. He truly didn't want her to go with that monster. "It's okay. I wanted to get to know my family. Sasori disapproved. But I'm not going with him until I feel like it."

"Oh really?" the older puppet master replied sarcastically. "Is everything at your whim these days?"

Ryo snapped. Before either of the redheads knew what she was doing, Ryo had Sasori pinned to the ground by the throat with one hand. "Saso, that's enough," she hissed, centimeters from his face. Sasori's eyes were wide with surprise. "I will not tolerate that any longer. You never treated me this way when I was a child, and you will not treat me as such now.

"Besides, I thought you would have realized by now that I'm running my own show. Don't tell me what to do," Ryo ordered as she eased up on his throat. The girl offered her old teacher a hand up, which he took gratefully.

"You will never cease to amaze me," Gaara muttered as he watched Ryo go from completely furious to purely happy.

Sasori chuckled. "You don't even know," he murmured with a smile. In a different tone he continued, "So cousin. Do you have a room for an old puppet master for the night?"

Gaara stared at him with complete shock. "You are wanted by the city of Sunagakure for the murder of over three dozen people, not the least among them being myself. How can you expect-"

"So much for the discreet dealings of the Kazekage of Suna," Sasori sighed ruefully. Before Gaara could say anything, he continued, "It's for one night so she" he jerked a thumb at Ryo, who stuck out her tongue, "can say goodbye to all of her 'friends'."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. He didn't trust Sasori, maybe something about being killed by him. That and he wanted to take Ryo away. Though he was loath to admit it, Gaara had grown very fond of having Ryo around.

"For tonight only," Gaara grumbled.

Ryo rolled her eyes. "What did I warn you about puppet masters always getting their way?"

Gaara had done all he could to make sure that Sasori was as far away from Ryo as possible, but apparently that wasn't good enough. As he was making his final rounds, or at least that was the excuse he was using, he caught sight of red hair flicking just around the corner. Since Gaara was the only resident of Suna with that color hair, it could only be Sasori.

Following the puppet master at a distance had been easy. Sasori had obviously fallen victim to his own godlike reputation and let his skills slip. The puppet master had gone outside and scaled the wall up to Ryo's fourth floor balcony. Gaara followed, the heavy rain masking all noise he made.

"What are you doing up here?" the Kazekage demanded quietly.

Sasori turned to face him with a haughtily bored expression. "Didn't I already kill you once?" he demanded rhetorically.

"Leave Ryo alone," Gaara ordered slowly. Sand whirled about him angrily, undaunted by the falling rain.

A pained expression briefly flickered across the puppeteer's face, but it was gone before Gaara thought to question it. "I can't do that Kazekage," Sasori replied calmly. "She's all I have that I actually like in this world. Itachi and the others are fine, but only Ryo truly knows."

"Knows what?"

An uncomfortably serene feeling settled into Sasori. "Ryo knows everything," he replied. With a dark chuckle he continued, "And nothing at the same time. She's my best friend and student."

"You're more cryptic than she is," he snapped. "Besides, she not your student. Ryo is more powerful than you. You can't read minds with your puppet threads."

Sasori rolled his eyes. "Neither can she," he informed the younger man. Then, amending his former statement he continued, "Well, she can. But she's too afraid to use that particular ability. Lucky for me."

Gaara stared at the puppeteer in total disbelief. "Of course she uses it!" he exclaimed. How could this man, who claimed to know Ryo better than any other, be so ignorant of who she was and what she could do?

His words were greeted by a frosty sarcastic smile. "I would know if she decided to use that power," Sasori retorted arrogantly. A fork of lightning split the sky, throwing the room they stood before into sharp relief. It was empty.

Sasori stared through the glass in utter astonishment, then began to laugh. Gaara was stunned at the abrupt turn around in mood the puppet master made. No wonder Ryo could turn on a dime.

But Sasori ignored his confused cousin and hopped to the ground below, still chuckling. He held out his hand and let some rain pool in his palm. Gaara followed him down, landing with a slight jar.

"Have you finally snapped?" the Kazekage asked peevishly.

Sasori flicked the water at him. "I am a fool, and was laughing at myself," Sasori replied, not quite answering the question. "It's raining."

Gaara raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked dryly. "I didn't notice."

As the thunder rumbled a bit, Sasori's expression flipped once more back to serious. "It's raining, and I'm looking for Ryo," he said slowly. Seeing that Gaara still didn't understand he continued, "Ryo is on top of the highest part of the city. Probably a deserted section of the wall."

"And this has to do what with my cousin?"

Sasori began walking briskly down the deserted street. "Ryo has an addiction to rain. That is the only way to explain it," he told the younger redhead as Gaara hurried to catch up.

"She did look odd when we were on the roof earlier," Gaara commented. Sasori shot him an annoyed look that he didn't quite understand. "Why do you hate me? I understand that you needed Shukaku, but what have I done since then to deserve this treatment?"

For a while Sasori didn't answer. The walked all the way across the city to a section of wall that was as far from the gate as could be. Their trek took much less time than it usually took Gaara because Sasori walked so quickly that he had to jog to keep up. Then up a flight of stairs and around an unused guard post brought them to a railing.

"I hate you because you love my Ryo," Sasori whispered heatedly, barely audible above the torrent of rain. Before Gaara could make a snappy come back or even try to figure out what the puppet master meant, Ryo danced into view.

Gaara was struck speechless. Ryo wore the same ao dai as she did at the meeting, but it was now completely drenched. Her long red/purple hair was let loose from the pins and headband that usually held it at bay to fall to her hips in wet curls. Feet bare, she spun lightly on the edge of the railing without fear of falling. Gaara changed his mind: Ryo had never looked happier than _this_ moment.

Sasori, with a light smirk, walked quietly behind her. "I see you found the thunderstorm," he commented dryly. Yet again, his tone was completely different from when he had been talking to Gaara moments before. Then he had sounded condescending and sharp; in that one sentence to Ryo he had sounded amused and… Gaara couldn't place the other emotion in the man's voice.

"Saso!" Ryo squealed happily as she spun on her heel to look down at her friend. The railing was wet and slick though, so instead of the graceful turnabout she had wanted, Ryo found herself falling toward the concrete.

She never made it to the ground though. Ryo was suddenly in Sasori's strong arms. "Ryo, what am I going to do with you?" the red head savior asked with a smile. He shook his head fondly at her antics.

Ryo gave him a dazzling smile. "Carry me back to my room?" she suggested hopefully.

"Where did you leave your shoes?"

"They were slippers and I didn't want them ruined."

The scene before him was so bizarre that Gaara had to let out a frustrated laugh before he burst. "You two are the most insane, bipolar, irrational people I have ever met!"

Ryo smiled at the Kazekage from the comfortable seat of Sasori's arms. "We are also the most prudent, analytical, brilliant people you will ever meet, so it all becomes balanced," she pointed out. Closing her eyes and lifting her face to the falling rain, Ryo continued, "Now if you would be so kind as to take me to my room."

Sasori, much to Gaara's surprise, assented immediately. Still holding the beautiful woman in his arms, the puppet master descended the steps back down to the muddy ground.

Standing there alone in the rain, Gaara wondered how in the world he had gotten into such a strange situation. Following a master puppeteer up a wall in the rain to find another puppeteer who didn't want her slippers ruin so she had to be carried home, leaving Gaara alone

Ryo stood in her bathroom with the door open as she brushed her long freshly washed hair. Sasori sat in an armchair near her bed, fiddling with a few hinges on one of his puppets. It was nearing eleven p.m. and the rain was still going strong. When it rained in the desert it really rained.

"And then my thread came detached," she chuckled at the mirror. "I thought my skills had failed me entirely."

"She must have done something to make sure we couldn't turn her into a puppet," Sasori remarked as he tightened a screw. "Not that it matters. What point is there in making a puppet out of a puppet master?"

Rolling her eyes at her comrade's practical words, Ryo continued to run her brush through her wavy locks. Her purple/red hair looked dark violet when it was wet. A peal of thunder and a flash of blue lightning caused a smile to spring to Ryo's lips.

"No," Sasori snapped from his chair. He had watched the look that flickered into life across her face. "You just took a shower and changed."

Ryo dropped her brush onto the counter with a clatter and ran over to Sasori. Skidding to a halt behind him she whispered in his ear, "I'm not a six year old little girl anymore Saso. I'm a woman now and I can make my own decisions."

Unbeknownst to her, Sasori was trying not to shudder or worse moan. Her light breath across his ear was driving him crazy and she smelled wonderful as her long damp hair fell across his cheek. Suddenly her thin arms were wrapped loosely about his shoulders, her head resting right next to his.

"Please can we go up to the roof," Ryo pleaded quietly, belying her earlier statement. "The storm is so nice and warm. Blue lightning! How often do you-"

"Fine!" Sasori half yelled half laughed as he leapt to his feet. _Can't let her that close. She does weird things to me that I _**_shouldn't _**_feel._ "We'll go to the roof."

With a delighted squeal, Ryo grabbed her friend's hand and hauled him out of the room.

The roof was empty obviously. The storm had chased most rational people inside and out of harm's way. But Ryo always seemed to be running into to danger, so it never occurred to her that anything bad might happen.

Spinning gleefully, Ryo let out a laugh as the drops fell on her face. Sasori favored the dry space under the edge of the building. He watched her covetously, feeling joy at her obvious happiness.

Ryo stopped her giddy antics long enough to notice that Sasori had chosen to stay under the eves. She dashed over and grabbed his hand. "Come dance with me," she pleaded, her dusk-red eyes looking up longingly at him.

Clearing his throat uncomfortably, Sasori was willingly pulled out into the maelstrom. Far too willingly, in his own opinion. Ryo latched on to both of his hands and they spun in circles. Ryo's infectious laughter ringing in his ears and making Sasori laugh too. As they twirled through a puddle, Ryo slipped and fell foreword into Sasori's waiting arms.

They were startled at first, but before he could do the smart thing and gently push her back to her feet, Ryo closed the small distance between their bodies and hugged Sasori close. Sasori couldn't fight what he wanted; he wrapped his arms around her tightly, resting his cheek on the top of her head. Ryo stood in her bare feet about a head shorter than Sasori, though that still made her tall, was just perfect for holding her like he was.

_What the hell am I doing!_ he yelled at himself. _This is wrong! _A different voice, the one he usually tried to beat back, murmured seductively, **But it feels divine. **_I am going to burn in hell for this… _**She stepped into my embrace. SHE initiated it.** _And I should be the responsible one and push her back. She obviously doesn't know what she's doing._ **And if she does? If this is truly of her own volition?**_ Then I raised a girl as sick as I am, and we both need to find a god to beg forgiveness from._

"I don't like it when you think of me only as pronouns," Ryo informed his chest. Sasori snapped his head down, trying in vain to see her face. Her tone sounded amused, but with Ryo you could never tell until it was too late. "And you are not a deplorable person."

Sasori, mouth dry with fear, tried to ask lightly, "Ryo, what are you talking about?"

She saw through it though, like she saw through everything he tried to hide. "Gaara told you that I'm using the threads at long last," Ryo told him levelly as she looked up into his eyes. "He doesn't lie. I can read your mind."

Reeling, Sasori pushed her out of his arms and backed away as quickly as he could. A hurt look passed across Ryo's face, but before Sasori could regret hurting her a slick patch of pavement felled him to the ground.

In an instant Ryo was by his side, kneeling and pulling his head into her lap. Sasori couldn't protest; the fall had knocked the air from his lungs and hurt his lower back. He had landed on a kunai. It hadn't impaled him, rather it had slit shallowly him from hip to hip.

Stroking his hair, Ryo explained gently, "Sasori. You have to be a masochist to have put yourself through all of this pain. And me too, for that matter. It's alright that you fell in love with me. I know that you have. It's in your every thought and action whether you meant me to find out or not."

Sasori tried to sit up, to deny it vehemently, to claim he would never be so disgusting as to physically want the little girl he raised. A girl, now a woman, twenty years younger than himself.

"Well, you are attracted to me on much more than a physical level and you know it," she chided. Sasori glared at her, trying to impose his will upon her and make her stop. But Ryo would not be deterred. "And the age is nothing. I am ancient in treachery. You didn't fall for a little girl, Saso. I'm a grown woman."

A woman Sasori saw pass through life, guiding her and teaching her along the way. A woman he kissed the booboos of and braided her hair. A woman he loved as a best friend until she was sixteen, when that honest love turned into something disgusting and inappropriate.

"The love you bear toward me is neither of those, nor any of the others that cross your mind," she assured him with a tiny smile. Sasori lay helplessly in her arms, silently pleading for her to stop. To forget what she knew and have things return to the safe pain they were before. Because Sasori knew that once this began, he would not be able to stop himself.

Ryo leaned slowly down to her all too willing captive. "Please stop," he whispered brokenly, tears in his eyes. Shaking her head no with a tiny smile, Ryo continued her descent.

Through the threads, closed though they were, Ryo could feel the utter turmoil rolling inside Sasori. It was like the storm that danced all around them, crashing and falling and hopeful and soaring all at once. Softly she placed her mouth over his and, after a briefly embarrassing thought (_I've never kissed anyone before!_), Ryo kissed Sasori.

Sasori lay immobile, trying not to kiss her back. It was pure physical pain, worse than the cut on his back. Worse than when he became human again. Every fiber of his body demanded that he reciprocate, yet he tried to deny himself the one pleasure he had longed for so long.

_I shouldn't! _**Her mouth is on mine, what am I doing? **_I raised her! It's wrong! _**It's right enough for her!**_ I can't!_ **She wants to! **_I can't desecrate her like this!_ **I want to!** _But-!_ The voices suddenly realized one thing in accord: they wanted it. Both of them. It was that common ground that was Sasori's undoing. _**I want her.**_

All of those thoughts occurred in a millisecond. At once his hand flew up to twine in her long hair, pulling her face closer. It was difficult to keep the kiss chaste, but somehow he managed.

When they finally pulled apart, after one long sweet kiss, Sasori looked stricken. Ryo looked exultant. "Was that really so difficult?" she teased. Her eyes were whirling with excitement and mischeif, like the clouds above them. Rain dripped from her scalp to fall on Sasori's face in warm spatters.

"Ryo," he whispered, but she gave him a glare that would have made Itachi curl into a ball in the corner.

"Don't you dare!" she growled. Sasori became acutely aware that she still had a fistful of his damp red hair. "If you start spewing some bull story about how wrong this is I will skin you alive. I know your thoughts Sasori and-"

"Then you'd realize that I have lost the war," he whispered with a half smile. Ryo stopped mid-sentence, jaw dropped. "I haven't the will to resist you any longer."

Letting out a laugh that rivaled a rising peal of thunder in its pure joy, Ryo kissed him once more. "Now let's go back to my room and bandage your back," she declared as she gently helped him to his feet.

"That's just an excuse to have me take my shirt off," Sasori remarked with a feral grin. To be able to tease Ryo again was perhaps the second greatest victory of the day. The first would be taking his shirt off for her ;).

Eyeing him coyly she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Maybe," Ryo breathed, smirking lightly in return. Achieving the shudder she had hoped for, Ryo danced happily around Sasori as he hobbled his way to the door.

Raising an eyebrow at his new lover's antics, Sasori snickered, "You'd think you just one the lottery rather than a forty year old puppeteer trapped in the body of a twenty year old."

"For your information, I have been in love with you in one way or another since the day you took me in," Ryo informed him as she their linked arms. Sasori looked down at her, flabbergasted. "Besides, if you were any younger you wouldn't be able to keep up with me mentally."

Opening his mouth to try and sputter out a coherent sentence, Sasori felt a sharp pain in his neck, just below his scorpion tattoo. Sasori reached back and felt the shaft of a dart. _Poison,_ he thought as he sank to the ground.

Ryo, unable to hold the sudden weight, collapsed with him. "Saso?" she demanded, shaking him lightly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," a cold voice sneered from behind her. Ryo whirled around, still crouched next to Sasori's prone form. A woman stood there on the roof in all white, a veil covering her hair and face. Only her eyes peaked out from above the veil, and they were filled with a burning hatred. "Except for that vulgar display. He raised you. He is two decades older than you. What kind of abominations were you going to commit? He is lucky that I have come for him now."

"There is nothing wrong with our love," Ryo retorted hotly. Silently she was cursing her lack of preparedness. She should have been armed. She should have sensed the woman coming.

The woman stepped foreword, a senbon needle appearing in her hand. "I will be taking Akasuna no Sasori now," she said, throwing the needle. It lightly grazed Ryo's neck, almost like a paper cut, but she knew that it was laced with a poison of some kind.

Ryo watched helplessly as the mystery woman threw Sasori easily over her shoulder. With one last disdainful glance, the woman ran off the roof and down into the sleeping, wet city.

Ryo enjoyed her last few moments of consciousness. Raindrops fell on her upturned face, feeling like tiny kisses. _All of my troubles come in the wake of storms,_ she thought bitterly as darkness enveloped her mind.


	15. Chapter 15

Hello! Here's chapter 15! It's not too bad if I do say so myself. Summer break has started, so I should be able to write a bit more. I have to raise a thousand dollars in two weeks though, so maybe not -.-

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo goes back to the Akatsuki, Itachi is the same as ever, and Hidan is actually useful.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and the Third Hokage's death would have been way more epic.

15

Consciousness returned slowly for Ryo. For a very long expanse of time she felt as though she was floating through a soft fog that dimmed all of her senses. _That's what I get for being human_, Ryo thought ironically to herself.

After what seemed like both an eternity and a moment, a strange tickling began to make itself known. As soon as Ryo focused her hazy mind on it, the tickling roared into a realm of pain. _Gaara is worried about- Sakura is tired but- Temari and Kankuro are furious with Sa- Itachi is sleeping on a- Konan and Pain are ki- Naoko is feeling smug- Naruto is livid because- Deidara is drunk agai- Sasuke is have a dream about Nar- Sasori is-_

Shrieking in agony, Ryo was jolted from her comatose state. As she jerked into a sitting position Ryo slammed the connection between herself and the threads shut. Information overload. Some one must have sedated her and loosened her chakra.

Ignoring the shudders that wracked her body, Ryo looked around the room at the concerned faces assembled. Before she could as a question, Sakura bustled over.

"Are you alright?" the pink haired girl asked in a polite, doctoral way. It must have been Sakura who had tried to help her. "Are you in pain?"

"No, not until you loosened my chakra," Ryo answered absently. There was a more pressing problem than her pain. "Where is Sasori?"

Gaara, who had been standing near the door with a black cloud of anger covering his face, came to stand by her bed. "We were hoping you could tell us, seeing as he poisoned you," the Kazekage said, his voice carefully neutral.

Ryo almost laughed, but a pain in her abdomen told her it wouldn't be wise. "No he didn't. It was the woman in white. She kidnapped him while we were on the roof."

"What woman?" Gaara asked, raising a mocking eyebrow. "There was no one on that roof but the two of you. How far will you go to protect him?"

Stumbling to her feet, despite the protests of Sakura, Ryo stood before Gaara. Her very posture screamed 'angry predator'. Despite the three inches he had on her, despite the fact she only wore a breast band and boy-shorts, Ryo stared Gaara down.

"Sasori has been kidnapped," she said slowly, emphatically. "By a woman in all white. She threw a needle at Sasori and me, then whisked him off into the night. I do not know why. Either help me find him, or banish me once more."

The cold distance Gaara had been trying to maintain melted under Ryo's ultimatum. "Ryo, I'm sorry," he whispered, gingerly giving her a quick hug. From behind him he pulled a set of her clothes, which she gratefully (if not in utter confusion) accepted. "We thought that you were beyond help, and Sasori was the only one to blame."

"Justice, not blame, is what is needed cousin," Ryo replied as she pulled her red silk shirt over her head. Her ao dai had probably been ruined, she thought mournfully. "I must go after Sasori. There is something very wrong about all of this."

"Wait just a moment," an annoyed Sakura interjected. Ryo was her patient. It was up to her to say whether the puppet master was in any condition to run headlong into danger so soon. "I need to give you a look over before you do anything else."

Before any objections could be made, Sakura was poking and prodding Ryo. "Why did you cry out?" Sakura demanded as she finished her examination. "I see no wounds."

"You shifted my chakra," Ryo retorted angrily. "I have it just so in order to keep myself from going insane with the torrent of information. You moved it and the information poured in like a dam breaking."

Sakura contemplated that for a moment, then nodded. "Well, I don't think we could have woken you up otherwise."

"So can I go?"

The medininja nodded. "You have an extraordinarily clean bill of health. Just don't go and get yourself killed," Sakura said with a smile. Grabbing her medical bag, Sakura walked out of the room.

Turning to Gaara, Ryo sighed, "I have to leave now if I want to find him. It would be best if I go alone."

"I had hoped you wouldn't say that," Gaara muttered, then gave Ryo a half-smile. "Do you know what Sasori said when I asked him why he hated me?"

"Other than the whole 'he died trying to kill you' thing?"

"Yes, other than that," Gaara sighed. Ryo was missing the point entirely, but whether it was on purpose or not he didn't know. "Sasori told me that he hated me because I love you."

Ryo was shocked. "Um. Well," she coughed, trying to think of a coherent way to say 'holy shit what the hell do you mean?' more elegantly.

"I thought long and hard about what he said," Gaara continued. Ryo knew he was trying to make this as painless as possible. She also knew that he didn't want her to use the threads. "And it's true."

"Gaara-"

He held up a hand to silence her. "I love you like a sister. And a friend. And a little more than that, but I think that everyone who meets you is at least half in love with you," Gaara teased gently. Ryo sighed in relief. "But it made me realize something else. Sasori loves you more than anyone else on this planet could ever hope to. And you love him even more. And this wonderfully odd love the two of you share might get you both killed for one reason or another."

Giving her cousin a sad smile, Ryo agreed, "Probably, but I still need to go after him alone. I'll move faster that way. Besides, I would never ask you to give me a ninja I'll just end up killing."

"You'd kill one of my shinobi?" Gaara asked with a raised eyebrow. As she usually did, Ryo lightened the mood in an instant.

"Well not on purpose," she amended as they walked out of the room arm in arm. "They would try to kill me in my sleep, and then I would have to stab them. And even if we made it all the way to where ever it is that I'm going, they'd just be killed by the ladies in white."

"So you won't have any help at all?"

"Now I never said that," Ryo replied mischievously.

After a big teary good-bye scene with her new family, Ryo set out for the one group of people who would be willing to help: the Akatsuki.

Sure, she had run away from them after tricking them, but what's a little deceit among friends? Pain would have the information she needed. Itachi would have a suggestion or two on how to get there. And Deidara would have… something unique, at least.

The clouds had finally burned away, leaving the desert terrain soggy and the air muggy. With only a light pack, Ryo marched on through the deserted desert. Over head a hawk shrieked, the only break in the monotony of silence.

Alone and finally out range of Suna, Ryo began turning the problem at hand around in her mind. Sasori had been kidnapped by a woman in all white who had knowledge of poisons and such. She had insinuated that she belonged to a group. The group wanted Sasori for some reason, and had been watching him for quite a while.

Growling in frustration, Ryo poured on the speed. There was too much information she didn't have. The sooner she was out of the desert, the sooner she could get the info from Pain. Which meant Ryo would get to Sasori sooner.

Walking into the Akatsuki hideout again was a strange feeling. Ryo had been gone about a month, but the walls felt both familiar and alien. It reminded her of a time when she was five. Sasori was going for a walk, and Ryo demanded to come too. Finally relenting, Sasori took her along. Walking through the Suna twilight, they came across the house Ryo had lived in with her parents. She couldn't bring herself to think of it as her old home; home was with Sasori. But it was just as familiar as her room in Saso's apartment. The familiarity was there, but not the emotional attachment.

Turning left, Ryo glanced in the open door of the 'living room'. Itachi was there, along with her least favorite people: Hidan and Kakuzu. Ryo disliked Hidan because he believed in a god. Sasori and Granny had raised Ryo to think of herself as a god, as they thought of themselves. Kakuzu was simply a poorly made puppet to Ryo.

Standing in the doorway, Ryo realized that it wasn't that she disliked the two men. Ryo simply pitied them for being less than she was. Needing a god to serve in order to have power and being patch-work with four hearts was pitiable in her mind. Ryo had the power over every human on the planet at her fingertips, a skill she was born with. As a puppet, Ryo was flawless and indestructible. Since she was more, that made them less. It was a nasty shock to find that she felt that way. It made Ryo feel like a bad person.

Hoping for the best, Ryo entered the room.

"You took longer than I expected," Itachi remarked, not looking up from his novel. "With your mission, not coming through the door. Though that took you a while as well."

Not in the mood to trade sarcastic remarks, Ryo tugged the book out of the Uchiha's grasp. It sailed across the room into her waiting hand. "I need help with something," she informed him briskly.

Itachi regarded her carefully, then nodded. With an internal sigh of relief, Ryo walked over to the sofa and sat down. "What's wrong?" Itachi asked, his red eyes focused on her face.

"Sasori has been kidnapped," Ryo said haltingly. It was difficult to admit that Sasori had been taken from right underneath her nose.

Hidan, who had been watching TV, turned around. "Why are you worried?" he asked with a chuckle. "Sasori is indestructible. He will probably be coming here as we speak."

Pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes, Ryo replied reluctantly, "Because I made him human."

Silence. Then, "YOU DID WHAT!" Kakuzu demanded, his cheek seams stretching a little. "HOW?"

"He died, I sacrificed some guy Deidara wanted dead, and used the energy to raise Sasori," Ryo answered quickly. "But if we can get back to-"

But Kakuzu would not be deterred. "Since when did you get so powerful?" he demanded.

Itachi, obviously curious to find out what happened to Sasori, answered for her. "Ryo is more powerful than Sasori. Now shut up before I have her tear you apart at the seams."

"She can't do that," Kakuzu pouted, crossing his arms.

Ryo was tired of the games. It only took a moment to find the threads she had on Kakuzu, and even less than that to give them a swift tug.

"What the-?" he demanded, right before his mouth laced itself shut.

"You're just one big, poorly made puppet, Kakuzu," she snapped. Turning back to Itachi, Ryo continued her story. "We were on a rooftop in Suna, dancing in the rain."

Instead on asking the obvious 'how did you get to Suna', Itachi asked, "How did you get him to dance in the rain?"

"I seduced him. And then he slipped and fell on a kunai. And then I kissed him. As we were going back inside, a woman in all white appeared and threw a needle at him. Sasori passed out. She got me as well, grabbed Sasori, and ran off."

Itachi stared at her in silence for a long time. "Well, at least he'll stop all of his bitching now," he concluded, plucking his book from Ryo's shocked hands.

"That's all you have to say?" she demanded. "No clue who it was, no idea how to find him?"

"I have a bit of information, if you're willing to do me a favor," Hidan interject from the other sofa. His eyes were still glued to the TV. It took Ryo a moment to realize he was watching SAW4.

"And what favor is that?" she asked cautiously. Help from Hidan was not cheap. Ryo wanted to know what she was getting herself into.

A slow smile uncurled on his lips. "Keep his mouth sewn shut like that," he said, jabbing his thumb over at Kakuzu, who glared back. "And I'll tell you all I know. Deal?"

Still slightly wary, Ryo nodded, "Deal."

"The woman in white, she was in all white, including a veil? I thought so. They call themselves the Followers of the Red Scorpion and practice what they call 'doku*', though what they mean when they say that they practice poison I don't know. They worship a god they call Aka*, who was a man who became a scorpion and then became a god by killing three kagekami*. Their high priestess is a woman they call Kurai*. The group originated in Suna, but they moved to Konoha. I don't know where they are exactly, but- Ryo? What is wrong?"

Ryo fell back against the sofa, unable to breathe. There was no way. It was all too coincidental. "Itachi!" she gasped, turning to him in a panic.

The Uchiha's eyes were wide with shock. "It can't be," he murmured uncertainly.

"What is going on?" Hidan demanded. Was his information not good enough for the great Ryo?

"It seems," Itachi explained pained, "That Sasori has his own cult."

Hidan laughed. "No, that can't be. How did you even-" Then it hit him. "Followers of the Red Scorpion. Sasori of the Red Sand."

"He killed three Kazekage, and Aka killed three shadow gods. They began in Suna. They practice the art of poison. Are there any other parallels?" Itachi demanded. Sasori was his friend. If he was in the hands of a crazy cult, Itachi wanted as much information as possible.

Hidan nodded mutely, his eyes wide with the weight of knowledge. "Aka had an apprentice, a little girl named Murasaki*. But his lovers, twins Nikuyoku* and Arashi*, asked Aka to kill the little girl. He agreed, but felt so wretched after that he killed Nikuyoku. Arashi, in penance, follows him for the rest of eternity."

"They separated you into three different girls," Itachi remarked tiredly. Ryo nodded, still too stunned to know what to think. "Murasaki for the childhood that was taken from you. Nikuyoku for the defiance and bloodlust you demonstrated the day you left Suna. And finally Arashi, because you are the storm that follows Sasori everywhere he goes."

"Is there anything else?" Ryo asked mechanically. "Anything at all?"

Hidan wracked his brain, trying to think of minute details. "They wear white because they are all virgins. They want to make themselves pure for Aka, who transforms them into a higher being for his purpose. All but Kurai, who wears red and purple and white. She claims to be the single human reincarnation of Nikuyoku and Arashi. The One Lover for Aka."

"Not so long as there is still breath in this incarnation," Ryo growled. Sasori had raised her to think of herself and him as gods. He obviously didn't know that others felt the same way.

"I'm coming with you," Itachi declared as he set down his book. Ryo opened her mouth to protest, but he glared at her. "He is my friend. Besides, you need me. I am from Konoha."

Ryo nodded. "Thanks Hidan," she told the follower of Jashin, but he had already turned back to his film. "You too, Kakuzu." Kakuzu didn't look happy, but nodded all the same.

The two friends stood and walked out of the room to prepare for their journey. "Ryo?" Hidan called. The puppet master glanced back. "Good luck. I hope you'll think better of us when this is all over."

Ryo smiled at her new… friend was too strong of a word, but he had helped her immensely. "I already do, Hidan."

I used a bunch of Japanese words that I pulled off of Google in this episode, so if I used them incorectly or out of context I don't really care. I know Latin, not Japanese. Here is the list of what I _think_ I used:

Doku- poison  
Aka- red  
Kagekami- shadow god  
Kurai- unknown  
Murasaki- purple  
Nikuyoku- lust  
Arashi- storm

If I offended someone's mother, I'm sorry.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm not fond of the way I wrote this chapter. It seems forced to me, but I felt like I needed to post _something_. The plot continues rolling right along.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo falls in love with Konoha, Itachi is Itachi, and Sasuke gets turned into a girl.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and there would be more Tenten. Not much, but a little more than there is now.

16( this goddamn number refused to center!)

"It would be quicker to pass through here," Itachi insisted, tracing a route on the map with his finger. The two shinobi sat around a fire they had made in the forest. Night had fallen already, but they were making good time. "It would shave a day and a half off of our travel time."

Ryo shook her head vehemently. "No," she declared firmly. She traced a different path, one that took them through part of the desert rather than the forest. "That would take a half a day off, which is good enough."

Itachi stared at her like she had grown a second head. "Good enough?" he repeated incredulously. "Sasori has been kidnapped by a cult who believes that he is a god. The high priestess of the cult thinks she is the reincarnation of you, and plans on making love to him whether he wants it or not, which is called rape in most places. Then there is the little detail of the followers wanting Sasori to turn them into something for a higher purpose, whatever that means. And you're content with 'good enough'?"

Nibbling her thumbnail, Ryo stared out into the darkness of the forest. Itachi's path took them right past Sasuke's hideout. She had promised that she would never reveal Sasuke's whereabouts to Itachi. There was no way that the brothers would not notice each other. They were pushing their luck being as close as they were.

If they took Ryo's path though, it put them behind a day. Itachi was, as usual, correct. Sasori probably didn't have time for them to waste. By the time they got to Konoha, they still had to find the cult. That could take days, and would involve Itachi being heavily disguised. Ryo was trapped in a catch-22.

"Why are you so insistent on staying away from that area?" Itachi asked, eyes narrowed. There were few things that Ryo didn't tell him. Some were very private of course, but Itachi didn't think that this was one of those things.

Ryo squirmed under his suspicion. "Itachi, can't you just drop it?" she pleaded. Her wide dusk red eyes stared fearlessly into his blood-red ones, imploring him to stop. Itachi was her best friend, now that Sasori was her lover. But Sasuke had wormed his way into her heart as well.

The Uchiha would not be swayed. "Tell me Ryo," he ordered. When Ryo didn't answer, Itachi growled in frustration. "At least tell me why you can't tell me."

"I promised that I wouldn't," Ryo whispered unwillingly. Itachi was smart; he would figure it out, and Sasuke would think she told him. "Can we just go to sleep?"

Nodding curtly, Itachi turned to stare into the fire. They both knew that a path hadn't been decided on. Ryo planned on arguing in the morning. Itachi intended to persuade Ryo to tell him the truth at first light. It would be a rough night of sleeping for the both of them.

-  
"I told you that she was a lying bitch," a voice snarled near Ryo's ear. _Karin thinks that you're a lying bitch,_ the threads informed her belatedly. **No shit,** Ryo thought, cursing her once again lack of preparedness.

Sasuke's voice was cold when he replied. "So it would appear," he agreed. "But let's give her a chance to explain herself."

There was no use feigning sleep; Sasuke knew she was awake. With only a brief thought as to how he was containing Itachi, Ryo sat up to face the younger Uchiha. "Why Sasuke, how loverly to see you again too soon," she greeted halfheartedly. Glancing to her left, she realized that Itachi was (apparently) not even awake yet.

Karin gave Ryo a look that said "Worry about yourself first, bitch". A slight flex of the puppeteer's fingers replaced the look with caution.

"Why is Itachi here?" Sasuke demanded, ignoring the silent exchange completely. "I thought that you had promised Ryo."

"If you'd give me a chance to explain myself, you'd see it's necessary," she grumbled. Cocking an eyebrow in disbelief, Sasuke gestured for her to tell her strange story. "I made myself and Sasori human, and you were about to get that wedding invite. Sasori was kidnapped from Suna by a cult that thinks he's a god. Itachi practically ordered me to take him along on the rescue mission because the cult is hiding out in Konoha, and Sasori is his friend. I was trying to convince him to take the longer route through the desert to avoid this, but your brother is an obstinate know it all. He wouldn't let it go without a thorough explanation, which I was loath to give him.

"That's the whole of it," Ryo concluded. Sasuke looked both incredulous and still slightly way. At least he looked inclined to believe her; Karin looked like she still wanted to kill Ryo on the spot.

"She's telling the truth, little brother," Itachi remarked as he sat up. Sasuke's hand immediately went to his katana, which Itachi didn't fail to notice. "Kill me later. I need to go rescue my best friend. That requires me being alive, if you couldn't figure that out."

"You're only alive now because you're with Ryo," Sasuke snapped, but it was a distracted reaction. _He's thinking about coming with you,_ the threads whispered excitedly. They liked Sasuke. _Hey wants to repay you for keeping Naruto safe. But he doesn't want to be near Itachi longer than necessary._

The wheels in Ryo's head were turning. The three of them had a better chance of finding Sasori alive than she and Itachi alone. Sasuke had been to Konoha more recently than Itachi anyway. Three was just a better way to travel for this mission.

Leaping to her feet, Ryo grasped Sasuke's astonished hands. "Please come Sasuke," she practically begged. A lovely plan was forming in her mind, but she needed both of the Uchihas to pull it off.

"Sasuke wouldn't even consider-" Karin began hotly, but Itachi gave her a stern look directly in the eyes. The magenta haired girl slumped backwards.

Raising an eyebrow, Ryo asked dryly, "Was the genjutsu really necessary?"

Itachi smirked. "I was about to use it, but didn't get the chance," he corrected with a satisfied tone. "She fainted."

Rolling her eyes, Ryo turned back to the task at hand. Sasuke was deep in thought, so she decided to prod him along a bit. "If you come with me, you'll see Naruto," she promised slyly. Sasuke's head snapped up, shocked. "I have an open invitation to Konoha, in part because I'm a citizen of Sunagakure and also because Naruto and I hit it off quite well. If I'm in the area and don't visit, he'll be royally pissed.

"You two will be heavily disguised of course," she continued briskly, getting down to the details. "Sasuke, you'll be a girl from Suna, because that will not be questioned. 'Tachi, you'll be his older brother mostly because I don't think I could keep up the charade if you were in a dress. All we have to do is make sure that we avoid that damn Kakashi."

"Why would we avoid Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, sounding very much like a little kid. He seemed to have forgotten that he was only barely considering going along.

Ryo grimaced. "He doesn't trust me," she admitted. That mission to protect Gaara's corpse still stung her pride. They found out she was a puppet, and there was nothing to be done about it. "He thinks that I'm either informing you or the Akatsuki on Naruto's whereabouts."

"Which you are," Sasuke pointed out with a smirk. Ryo stuck her tongue out at him. Changing topic, Sasuke continued, "I'll come. I owe you. Even if the bastard will be there."

While the brothers bickered about which of them was more of a bastard, Ryo gave an ironic smile. _Maybe Gaara was right,_ she thought. _Everyone I meet does seem to be half in love with me._

-  
Traveling with the Uchiha brothers was an interesting experience. Sasuke was silent, not even speaking up to tell the other two he was exhausted. Itachi was oddly vocal, telling fond stories of Konoha and his childhood there. Ryo interjected every now and again, but mostly she monitored her threads on not only her companions but on those she would be finding in Konoha.

They were making even better time thanks to Sasuke, having already made it into the Fire Country. He knew an even faster route than Itachi's, so they would be in Konoha by sundown. If all went well, they would find Naruto almost immediately.

Good thing too, because Sasuke's patience were being tried. Itachi kept prattling on about insignificant things, most of which Sasuke already knew. After a dozen hours of running through the trees, Sasuke finally snapped.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" he exploded, throwing a handful of shuriken at his older brother. Itachi obviously wasn't hit, but he paused his narration in utter shock. "I DON'T KNOW HOW KISAME STANDS BEING AROUND YOU ON MISSIONS, BUT I USUALLY DEMAND _SILENCE_!"

Itachi gave him a deadpan look. "Your first team had Naruto Uzumaki on it. How did you get any silence?"

"Leave Naruto out of this," Sasuke growled, his eyes flashing Sharingan red. _Sasuke wants a nap. He's worried about Naruto. Sasuke had forgotten how talkative his brother could be. Sasuke wants an Advil._ The threads, being an extension of Ryo herself, were giggling in delight.

"Enough, brats," she ordered the two of them. The Uchiha brothers turned to stare at her, flabbergasted. Ryo called them brats. No one had ever done that. "Sasuke, if you needed a nap, just say so. And Itachi, save these wonderful stories for Sasori. We're going to take a rest for the night and storm Konoha in the morning." It would be easier to enter the village during the day anyway.

Her reasoning made sense to her comrades, so they all dropped gracefully to the forest floor. Ryo went to gather wood for a small fire while Sasuke set up the pallets they were to sleep on. Itachi decided to go and hunt for them a meal.

Whistling a merry tune, Ryo danced through the forest picking up the occasional branch. The forests of Konoha were much more vibrantly alive than her native desert. Frogs croaked and cicadas whirred a merry, ever present tune. The desert was alive in more subtle ways; the rasp of lizard claws on rock, and the high keening of the wind over the sand.

After Sasori had taken her from Suna, they had lived in the desert for a while. It was dry and hot, and Ryo loved it. Sasori had hated the miles upon miles of sand, muttering constantly about wanting to turn it all to glass with a flame-thrower.

But this forest was humid and clean and fresh. The desert would always be home of course, but Ryo was not being objectionable about being in Konoha. It was, like everything in her life so far, an adventure.

When the moon was high in the sky, Ryo decided it was time to head back to camp. Following the thread she had placed on Sasuke, Ryo walked silently back, her arms loaded with sticks.

As she approached the camp, Ryo noticed that they had already made a fire without her. The threads suddenly pulled her to a stop, like the puppet she used to be. A snippet of thought, not coherent words but a feeling, slithered down the line. It was a private, brother thing apparently.

Smiling to herself, Ryo turned back around and headed into the forest. Climbing one of the huge trees that grew everywhere in the forest, Ryo nestled on one of the thick, upper branches. But only after she had hung a web on threads around the entire tree. Ryo refused to be taken by surprise again.

-  
Dawn shone brightly through the branches, waking Sasuke Uchiha from his light slumber. It was habit not to sleep deeply on missions for 2 reasons: he would never be surprised in his sleep, and so he didn't dream of Naruto. Stretching, Sasuke sat up.

Itachi watched him from across the long dead fire, his expression unreadable. Thinking back to the night before, Sasuke sighed. Only Itachi.

"Where's Ryo?" Sasuke asked as he rolled up his mat.

"She never came back to camp last night," Itachi answered, once more in his usual dispassionate tone. A look of amusement flashed through his red eyes, which Sasuke tried in vain to ignore.

"I'm going to find her," Sasuke declared, dropping his pack unceremoniously onto the ground.

Itachi was already on his feet. "Keep packing, little brother," he ordered with a smile. Without chakra threads, he was still able to tell what Sasuke was thinking. "Ryo is both unpredictable and completely capable. I'm sure she spent the night quite fine. Spare a worry for me, being the one to wake her."

Before Sasuke had a chance to gape at the fact Itachi had made a joke, he had left the small clearing.

-  
A slight resistance on her web of threads told Ryo that someone was approaching. Still sleepy, the puppet master made a fist, jerking the strings into a net.

"Ryo," Itachi called impatiently. A net made out of pure chakra strings that hoisted him fifty feet in the air. Leave it to Ryo. "Wake UP!"

Grumbling, the puppeteer sat up. "I'm up," she assured him, then let him fall back to the forest floor. Itachi was almost as graceful as she was. He'd land safely.

Following her friend to the ground, they made their way silently back to camp where Sasuke awaited.

"So here's the plan," Ryo started without preamble. "Sasuke, I'm transforming you into an old friend of mine from Suna. She died shortly after I left, so it will be fine. You're knew name is Kei."

Using her imagination to figure out what Kei would look like all these years later, Ryo slowly transformed Sasuke into a teenage girl. In Ryo's mind, Kei would be tall and slender, her black-green hair cut just below the ear. Her hazel eyes were tapered up just a bit, giving her an exotic look.

As Ryo finished the jutsu, Sasuke's eyes widened. "Ryo?" he asked, slightly panicked. This was a _very_ complete transformation.

Smirking, Ryo explained. "It's one of the many puppet based jutsus I know. You don't just _look_ like a teenage girl; you _are_ a teenage girl." It was one of her favorite techniques, though admittedly she had never tried it on a human before. Usually it was to morph her puppets.

"And me?" Itachi asked cautiously. He didn't want to be a girl, and even less so at the hands of Ryo. The girl was scary sometimes.

"You do what you want," Ryo replied airily. Kei didn't have an older brother, and Itachi could transform himself well enough that Ryo didn't need to help him. Not that Sasuke needed help, but it was all part of the master plan.

Closing his eyes, the older Uchiha did a series of hand signs. One puff of smoke later, there stood a handsome young man with the same hair and eyes as Kei, though much tanner. "Is this adequate?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryo nodded, delighted. Then she realized that Sasuke still wore the butt-bow and Itachi had the Akatsuki cloak on. "Crud," she sighed. All she had was girls' clothes. "Tachi, you're just going to have to take off the cloak and wear whatever you have on under it. Sasuke, I might have something to fit you."

"Whatever," Itachi sighed, beginning to unbutton his cloak.

Leading Sasuke over to her pack, Ryo fished out her clothing scrolls. "No, no, no," she muttered, rejecting them after barely looking at them. "Aha!" Finally, Ryo decided on Sasuke's attire. "Sorry I only have silk and fishnet."

In her hands the puppeteer held a short purple silk dress and a light green obi belt. Sasuke looked terrified. "How do I, um, wear that?" he asked cautiously. If they weren't so pressed for time, Ryo would have laughed.

"Strip," Ryo ordered. Then she smacked her forehead, remembering belatedly, "You need a bra and underwear."

Sasuke flushed. "Do I have to?" he pleaded. "This is odd enough."

Rifling through the bag again, Ryo decided that a breast band and loincloth would be easier than asking Sasuke to wear a cute bra and boy shorts.

After getting the undergarments on, Ryo showed him how to walk in a dress. Sasuke seemed to be oddly natural in a dress. One pair of heels later, and they were ready to go back to Itachi.

"What do you think?" Ryo asked as she showed off her creation. 'Kei' stepped around her and did a 360 for Itachi. The puppet master was proud of her work, but it was really no different than dressing her puppets.

"I liked him better before," Itachi replied in what was his equivalent to a wicked tone, winking at his brother who flushed. Ryo hid her astonishment, taking a chance to look at what Itachi wore. Simple black pants and a black shirt with fishnet underneath. Simple, but Itachi made it look sexy even in disguise.

"So what's your name?" Sasuke demanded, his voice squeaky and high. His vocal cords were transforming on their own. How odd.

"Taro. Now let's go before the sun gets too high."

-  
The gates of Konoha were wide open, something Ryo had never seen before in any city. It was almost like they were welcome. But even more shocking was the view of the marvelous city through the gates. It was all that Naruto and Sasuke had described and more. Ryo was momentarily lost in a whirlwind of colors and sounds and smells.

Itachi and Sasuke, or Taro and Kei, looked at her with amusement. "I forget how magnificent it really is," Itachi remarked appreciatively.

"How did we ever leave?" Sasuke asked in agreement. Konoha, for all of its faults and hardships, would always be home.

"Hello!" a voice called from the check in booth. A chunin waved them closer. "Welcome to Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves! How may I help you?"

"My name is Akasuna no Ryo. I'm a cousin of the Kazekage," she began respectfully. The chunin's eyes widened in shock. Family of the Kazekage? "Naruto Uzumaki told me that if I was ever in the neighborhood to drop by. These are my friends, Taro and Kei. We were hoping to spend a few days in the city, if possible."

"Of course," the guard stammered. Ryo chuckled on the inside. The chunin hadn't listened to a word she said after finding out she was Gaara's cousin. "Let me call for an escort to take you to the Hokage."

"Don't bother," a voice called cheerily. Glancing up, Ryo saw Kakashi walking down the road towards them. "I know Ryo. It would be my pleasure to escort her."

Ryo snorted. "Yeah, right into a jail cell," she drawled. Cursing her lack of preparedness, she hoped that Itachi and Sasuke were sufficiently disguised.

"Oh no," Kakashi disagreed as they began walking. "You've never met our Hokage. She's better than any jail cell. Besides, we know why you're here." Kakashi was far too happy, and it was making Ryo nervous.

"And why is that?" Kei asked from behind.

"Gaara sent us a letter telling us you were looking for Sasori," Kakashi explained, practically doing a victory dance. "And if he's in Konoha, that means we have the right to execute him."

Dundundundun... If anyone wants to know what happened with Sasuke and Itachi, I'd be glad to email it to you. Just ask. It's cute, but I didn't feel like putting it in the story.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17! Woot! For those of you who wanted to read the part I cut out of ch.16, I posted it as a one-shot. I thought it could stand on its own. 'I like it more than you think' is the title. It's very… graphic, if you know what I mean.

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo gets called a whore, Sasuke is the cutest girl ever, and no one in Konoha is being very helpful.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and Kakashi wouldn't have died when Pain invaded Konoha.

17

"So you're Akasuna no Ryo," the Hokage mused. Ryo was trying to be polite, but there were two problems. First, Kakashi had developed an odd desire to kill Sasori. And second, Tsunade's boobs were HUGE. Seriously, there should have been a law banning women her age from showing that much cleavage.

"Yes, hokage," the puppet master replied dutifully, inclining her head respectfully. "And these are my friends, Taro and Kei Yamamoto."

Nodding, Tsunade flipped through some papers on her desk. "I'd like to help you out here, I really would," she explained, sounding completely bored. Ryo didn't want to attach a thread to this woman; if anyone would notice it, it would be the Slug Princess. "But Sasori is a missing-nin and a member of the Akatsuki. We have to kill him."

_No, you __**want **__to kill him,_ Ryo thought acerbically at the woman. Simply because a person is in the bingo book does not make them… oh screw it. Sasori was an evil bastard. But he was Ryo's evil bastard.

"He was granted temporary clemency from Sunagakure when he was kidnapped," Taro pointed out. He sounded so different than Itachi usually did. Itachi's voice was like dark chocolate. Smooth, seductive, and subtle. Taro's voice was more like… nacho cheese. Still smooth, but warmer with the slightest hint of nerd.

"Really?" Tsunade asked, eyebrows raised. "The letter never mentioned that."

"Might I see my cousin's letter?" Ryo asked politely, smiling at the old woman. Appearing harmless wasn't difficult. It was appearing harmless to a room of people who were also adept at seeming less than they were, that was what Ryo needed to do. Other than the hokage there were five other people in the room.

The letter in question was handed to Ryo without speculation. A brief scan of the missive made Ryo smile. Oh how far the village of Konoha had fallen.

"This is not my cousin's hand writing," the puppet master declared, handing it back to Kei and Taro for them to inspect. They would see the same thing she did.

The siblings did not disappoint. "This was written by a woman!" Kei exclaimed. Taro nodded in agreement.

"What?" the Hokage demanded, walking around her desk and snatching the letter back. "It was signed Gaara. How can you tell?"

"First of all," Ryo began, pointing to the letter. She loved this part, when she got to explain the things she saw and others didn't. "The pressure on the paper isn't hard enough for it to be my cousin. The seal on the paper is that of the Council of Sunagakure, not the gourd that Gaara uses. And most importantly, this isn't my cousin's handwriting at all. If you had let Naruto read this, he would have told you at least that much."

Tsunade was glaring at the paper, oblivious to the very slight jab Ryo had presented. Apparently the Hokage didn't like being deceived. The other Konoha shinobi weren't so pre-occupied.

A man with long brown hair who had been leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open and turned his odd gaze on Ryo. There was no hostility, only mild curiosity and his lavender eyes. Ryo wasn't fooled; he could hide in plain sight just as well as she could. _Neji Hyuuga, he has the Byakugan. Be careful, he can see chakra,_ Sasuke warned through the threads.

"How do you know that Naruto never touched this letter?" Neji asked, tilting his head to the side.

Knowing absolutely nothing about kekkei genkai, Ryo tried to keep her lie believable. "I just don't think Naruto would have let it go by unnoticed," she hedged with a slight smile.

"You obviously don't know Naruto very well," the Hyuuga replied dryly.

Ryo snorted. "You obviously have never seen him in regards to my cousin," she retorted. Naruto treated Gaara like… a puppy? A little boy that needed a mother? It was a weird relationship.

"Now Ryo," Kakashi admonished from the window, startling everyone in the room. "Why don't you tell them the truth?"

"You have just confirmed my suspicion that you are a peeping tom," Ryo grumbled. Kakashi was starting to become a nuisance. Why couldn't he just leave well enough alone?

But he had thrown a bone to the other ninja, who snapped it up. "What does he mean truth?" a different man demanded. He had a single pony tail high on his head, making him look like a pineapple. _Shikamaru Nara,_ Sasuke explained through the excited threads. _A jounin from my year. He uses some kind of shadow possession jutsu._

A fist slammed down on the desk, sending a huge crack splintering down the wood. "I have been lied to enough today," the hokage grumbled. "What is really going on here?"

"To the best of my knowledge?" Ryo suggested in a light conversational tone. "Sasori of the Red Sand was kidnapped by a cult here in Konoha. You received a false letter from the Kazekage. You are now impeding my attempts to retrieve him."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Kakashi warned me about you, little Akatsuki mouse. Hold your tongue unless you want to lose it. As for the letter-"

A sudden squawking from the window behind Kakashi made them turn just in time to see a half-dead messenger hawk crash land in the center of the room. It wore a cute little coat, one that meant urgent message. The Hyuuga knelt down next to the bird and gently took its note. A woman, who had been sitting behind Lady Tsunade holding a pig, rushed to the fallen bird and scooped it gently up in her arms. At a nod from the Hokage, she rushed the bird out of the room.

"Lady Hokage, you will want to see this," Neji declared, handing her the open letter. His eyebrows were raised, and Ryo assumed that meant he was surprised.

"Hokage, my cousin Akasuna no Ryo is rushing to Konoha," she began, brow furrowed. This letter was much less elegant than the last. "Hopefully this will reach you before she does, though I doubt it. Akasuna no Sasori has been kidnapped, and Ryo is trying to recover him. Sasori was granted a few days' clemency while he was kidnapped, meaning you have no right to kill him should you find him. Something foul is going on, but I don't know what. Trust Ryo; she'll know what to do. Don't question her either, about anything. You won't like the answers. Gaara of the Desert."

"He expects us to trust her blindly?" Neji demanded.

The hokage waved the question aside. "I assume this is from the real Gaara?" she asked curtly. Ryo nodded; it had his sand all over it. "Then who was the other from?"

"My best guess is Naoko Mihara," Taro suggested. Ryo snapped her head back to her long time friend. _Something you said. It makes sense. She wants Sasori dead_, Itachi's voice explained quickly through the bonds. "She is on the Council and hates Akasuna no Sasori very much."

"Now you're accusing little old ladies of misleading an entire village," Kakashi chuckled, walking over to stand directly in front of Ryo. The mask made it hard to read his facial expression.

In another bout of puppeteer anger, Ryo reached for the threads she had placed so carefully on Kakashi. There were none. It wasn't even as if he had snipped them; this was a person Ryo had never met before. That wasn't good.

Narrowing her eyes, Ryo stepped closer. "Who are you?" she asked quietly, so that only he could hear. "Tell me now and I won't have to kill you."

"I'm Kakashi Hatake of course," he replied aloud, looking at her with a horrible amusement in his eyes. "How do you not know that?"

"I'm getting tired of this," Tsunade growled, her fists glowing blue. Ryo had to think fast or they were all going to be spending the night in a Konoha jail cell.

Inspiration struck, as she hoped it would. "Your Sharingan," she gasped, clapping her hands together in delight. There was no way to copy it, Ryo knew at least that much about dojutsu.

"Pardon?" the thing disguised as Kakashi asked, slipping a bit. Ryo smirked. It knew there was no way out.

Kei caught on. "Show us your Sharingan then, if you're the real Kakashi," Kei challenged. Sasuke's voice had completely altered. It was now a lovely contralto. _I thought there was something wrong with Kakashi-sensei,_ Sasuke's real voice muttered in her threads.

"Of course this is the real-" Tsunade began, then halted. "Neji."

At the command, the Hyuuga nodded. "Byakugan!" he said, the veins around his eyes bulging slightly. "There are millions of chakra threads attached to the girl!" he exclaimed. Ryo opened her mouth to give some explanation, but he was already continuing. "Wait. There is no chakra network in this man. He is a clone, disguised as Kakashi."

"I could have told you that," Ryo said rolling her eyes. Would she have asked otherwise?

The Kakashi-clone smirked. "But now that you've found me out, you can't do anything," he taunted. Ryo felt her temper sparking back to life again. "If you try using force to return me to my original shape, I'll just disappear. Same as if you try to torture information out of me."

The fragile temper of the puppeteer snapped. "Oh really?" she asked casually, reaching out a hand to caress his cheek. Little strings leapt from her hand onto Kakashi-clone's skin. A gentle tug pulled the disguise off like a skin being removed. It was a delicate procedure to not pop the clone, but Ryo had managed it.

Now there stood a woman in all white wearing a white veil. "Damn you, Kiken," she spat, her brown eyes glaring from above the veil of her face. Before they could stop her, she pulled out a needle and pricked herself, leaving only a puff of smoke.

"Damn," the hokage sighed. She walked around and slumped down in her chair. "We should have known."

"How could we have known?" Neji asked reasonably. "There was no reason for us to suspect it."

Shikamaru chuckled darkly. At the curious looks he received, the lazy genius explained. "He didn't have that perverted porn book with him."

"More importantly, he didn't have any of my threads on him," Ryo pointed out, flopping back into a nearby chair.

Tsunade eyed her warily from her desk, completely unreadable. "What are you?"

"I'm a puppet master," Ryo replied with a grin. "Now am I going to get any help or not?"

-  
"Well this was nice of them," Ryo sighed sarcastically as she surveyed her room. Scratch that. Her and _Kei's_ room. At least the tiny space had two beds and a bathroom. Other than that and a desk with a chair, it was pretty Spartan.

Kei looked around the room nervously. "Are you sure that they don't have another room?" she whined.

Ryo shot her a sharp look before hopping onto her bed. "Would you rather sleep with It-Taro?" the puppeteer asked curiously. The boy-in-girl's skin shifted slightly, and Ryo almost died laughing.

"What?" the other demanded shrilly, then sat down on the floor in defeat. This was not how Sasuke had wanted the mission to go. He was a girl trapped in Konoha rooming with his crazy former puppet friend. Once more, Sasuke felt completely bewildered at how he had gotten into such a situation. The puppet master effect, as Ryo called it.

"You may have made Itachi's entire life," Ryo commented with a snicker.

With as much dignity as he could, Sasuke stood up and walked into the bathroom. "I don't know what you mean," she declared, turning on the tap to wash her hands.

Ryo appeared behind Kei and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl's shoulders. Planting an affectionate kiss on her cheek, Ryo gave a small smile in the mirror. "You fucked Itachi last night when I didn't come back to camp, didn't you?"

Kei turned bright red. "Ryo, don't-"

"Good," the puppet master nodded. Kei's jaw dropped. "Itachi has been in love with you since I met him. I think that will help him accept that you and Naruto are the most perfect butt buddies in the world."

Slipping out of her grasp, the embarrassed Uchiha walked back to sit on her bed. "It was strange. Good, but strange," he admitted reluctantly. Fear and uncertainty flashed through her hazel eyes. "But he's my brother. And I love Naruto."

A sad sigh slithered out of Ryo's throat as she sat next to her friend and leaned her head on Kei's shoulder. "Sadly, love and sex rarely coincide in our world. But Itachi loves you quite a bit. And after what you went through with Orochimaru, I'm not entirely surprised that you became a satyromaniac. But Naruto won't care so long as you don't care what he's done."

"And what could Naruto have done that's worse?"

Chuckling, Ryo stood and held a hand out for Kei. "You don't know about the mating drive of Kyuubi, do you?" she asked as they walked out of the little room.

-  
"So where do we start?" Taro asked as they strolled down the street. Ryo was glad she had the two Uchihas with her. Otherwise, she would have wandered aimlessly around Konoha for days. It was so big! And bright, and loud, and colorful… Ryo wished she had a dozen other sets of eyes to look around with.

"We could break into the Hokage's study," Kei mused, arms clasped behind her head comfortably. "Or find the real Kakashi and ask him. We could even try just running around in the forest until we run into it."

"And what is the 'it' you think we're looking for?" Taro asked, shooting Kei a condescending smile. "A big building sitting in the middle of the forest just waiting to be stumbled across?"

Before Kei could open her mouth to make some cutting comment, Ryo squealed in delight and ran off in another direction. "Wait! Ryo!" Taro called in exasperation.

A bit of blonde and pink had just turned the corner where Ryo was running to. _Sakura and Naruto are arguing,_ the threads informed her. A light tug on her strings brought the two shinobi to a halt while Ryo caught up. Itachi and Sasuke could follow if they wanted.

"What the hell?" Naruto yelled. He tried to move, but he had no control over his body. It was almost as if it awaited the orders of someone else. "I'm stuck!"

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura replied in exasperation. "There's nothing for you to be stuck on."

Ryo let out a laugh and tackled the both from behind, driving them to the ground. "Naruto! Sakura!"

"Ryo?" Sakura asked, screwing her face up in confusion. "What are you- OH! Are you the party from Suna that Lady Tsunade was waiting for?" Ryo nodded.

Naruto, who had hit his head and been moaning in pain, suddenly grabbed Ryo into a tight hug. "RYO!" he squealed. "I can't believe you're in Konoha!"  
Hauling them all to their feet with threads, Ryo returned the hug. "I kinda can't believe it either."

"So Naruto," a deep voice, laced with amusement, from behind them grumbled. "Who's this lovely young thing?"

Naruto dropped Ryo like a hot rock. "Pervy Sage!" he exclaimed, doing a little happy dance. Sakura helped Ryo to her feet, chuckling at the blonde. "This is Akasuna no Ryo, a friend from Suna. Ryo, this is Jiraiya. He's one of the Sanin, and my mentor."

"Akasuna no Ryo, huh?" the man said, scratching his chin in contemplation. "The infamous puppet master? Sasori's Ryo?"

"One in the same," Ryo replied with a grand bow. It was never a good thing when people referred to her as Sasori's Ryo. It meant that they were automatically suspicious.

Nodding, the man turned to Naruto. "Careful Naruto," he warned, knowing full well that Ryo could hear him. "She's one of _those_ kinds of women."

Ryo made an internal pout at being unable to access information from the Toad Sage's mind. First Tsunade- well, technically it was Orochimaru first. Ryo had learned the hard way that Sanin shouldn't have strings thrown on them, for various reasons. Most importantly though, they would notice even the tiniest threads. Other than that, Ryo didn't want to know what they were thinking. Orochimaru was a sick bastard.

"No she isn't," Naruto retorted hotly. "Ryo would never do that."

"Do what?" Sakura asked, saving Ryo from having to admit she didn't know either.

Jiraya gave Ryo a long look filled with suspicion and a trace of condescension. "This is the kind of woman who would sleep with you, kill you in the after glow, and get away with it."

"Do I look like a whore to you?" Ryo demanded with one eyebrow raised in sheer incredulity. No one, not even one of the Sanin, called her a whore. At the barely half-thought order, threads leaped out and attached themselves to the Toad Sage.

Jiraya chuckled and turned to leave. "I've got a meeting with Tsunade," he declared, and Ryo growled. That was convenient. "I'll talk with you later, Naruto. You too, Sasori's Ryo."

"BYE PERVY SAGE!" Naruto yelled, waving at his mentor with a goofy grin.

Making plans to let loose her puppet master fury on this unsuspecting Sage later, Ryo reverted her attention back to Sakura. "Do you know anything about a group that call themselves the Followers if the Red Scorpion? Or have you seen any suspicious people lurking around Konoha?"

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but it was Taro's voice that came out. "Ryo, I don't think that we should be bothering these nice people," he suggested cheerfully from behind her. A warm hand clamped down on her shoulder, making the request into a demand.

"Oh no!" Sakura squealed. _Sakura thinks that Taro/Itachi is gorgeous,_ the threads informed their master, sounding disdainful. Ryo muffled a snort; if Sakura thought Taro was hot, what would she think of the god-like being he usually was? "It's no trouble. Are these friends of yours Ryo?"

"Yes. Taro and his sister Kei came with me from Suna. Gaara's orders," she added, rolling her eyes for effect. It was easier if they thought of the two disguised Uchihas as her bodyguards. Less questions that way.

Stifling a giggle, Sakura linked arms with Ryo. "Well, I've never heard of them," she admitted apologetically as they walked on. Ryo sighed. It wasn't surprising. "But, I'm sure that there's a record of them somewhere in Lady Tsunade's study."

Ryo shot a triumphant smirk back at Taro and Kei, who walked on either side of Naruto. They really should have trusted her plan more. She was a puppet master after all.


	18. Chapter 18

Hey everybody. Sorry for the MASSIVE delay in chapters, but life has this really bad habit of preventing me from doing what I want to do in favor of what I have to do. So, enjoy. Hopefully the delay will just make it that much better! Or not…

Story Summary: Sasori becomes the guardian of a little girl who has a talent for puppetry. He raises her, but unfortunately ends up falling in love with her. Bad things just snow ball from there.

Episode Summary: Ryo begins the search for Sasori, Naruto gets ramen, and Sasori realizes just how much trouble he's in.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Sasori would be alive and there would be much more Hinata.

18

"If I have to look through one more records folder, I think that my eyes might ooze out of my head," Naruto groaned, flopping back onto a pile of papers. Three hours of searching had not procured any new information, which wasn't too surprising. The Followers of the Red Scorpion were a Suna based cult, after all.

But Ryo was inclined to agree with the blonde. Her eyes felt like sandpaper and her stomach was so empty it hurt. Being human again was so bothersome. "Do you know of anyone who might have the information we're looking for?" Ryo asked, falling backwards as well. The sickening pop of her spine told the puppet master that she had been in the same position for far too long.

Sakura shook her head. "No. But Lady Tsunade doesn't keep the most detailed records in the world," she admitted with a blush. Sakura had a habit of trying to make every fault the Hokage had even smaller than it was. Really, it was already a miniscule problem.

"Pervy Sage might know," Naruto chimed in. "But if you already asked the Akatsuki, I doubt that he'll know any more."

Taro and Kei had choked on their own breath when they heard Naruto mention the Akatsuki so easily. Ryo nodded, sighing. "I guess that we'll just have to run around in the forest until we notice something. Anything, really."

"Why can't you retrace the threads you have on Sasori?" Kei asked, flipping idly through another records book.

"Uuummm," Ryo said brilliantly as she sat up. She hadn't thought of that, which was really quite sad. "Because that would be too easy?"

Taro glanced up from his sheaf of papers. "I think that becoming human again has messed with your brain," he suggested with a chuckle.

Ignoring the jibe, Ryo closed her eyes and delved into the threads. Hopefully, Sasori would be close and poorly guarded. With the way their lives had a tendency to go though, that was a wasted hope.

_Sasori is sleeping,_ the threads told her mournfully. That was all they knew. As far as they could tell, the sleep wasn't drug induced. Nor was it due to unconsciousness.

The puppet master snapped open her eyes and glared at the room indiscriminately. "He's sleeping, damn him," she growled. "Of all the times he could be human, it has to be now, when we'd both be so much more useful as puppets."

Suddenly an orange clad arm wrapped around her shoulders. "We'll find him Ryo," Naruto assured her with a soft smile. The tenderness in his eyes almost made Ryo gag, but she held the reaction back. It wasn't Naruto's fault that the only person left in the world who understood Ryo completely was being held captive by crazy people. There was no need for reassurances when she had her own assurance that the world would bend to her will eventually. Conceited, but she felt that she had the force necessary to back it up.

Kei on the other hand, had a brief look of pain and nostalgia before looking hastily back down at her book. _You're lucky,_ was the only explanation Sasuke would give.

"So what do we do now?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowed with thought. Sakura was a sweet girl, but she had a tendency to either think things are too simple, or to turn them into Rube Goldberg machines.

"We get lunch of course," Ryo declared, stumbling to her feet. Pins and needles raced down her legs, and if it weren't for Taro catching her Ryo would have been back on the floor. How undignified. "Suggestions?"

"Ichiraku!" Naruto yelled, pumping his fist in the air. Ryo chuckled fondly. "Ryo you promised that we would get ramen if you ever visited. You promised!" The blonde looked down at her, his blue eyes silently pleading.

Rolling her eyes, Ryo linked arms with Naruto. "So I did," she agreed. "And it had better be as good as you promised."

_-  
I hate ramen,_ Sasuke's disgusted voice floated through Ryo's thoughts as she downed another bowl of noodles. He had been repeating that one thought like a chant ever since they had left the records room.

"Naruto," she said, belching heartily, "that, was some good ramen. I shall never doubt your opinion of food choices ever again."

Sakura tried to hide her smile by taking a sip of tea. "Don't encourage him," she suggested dryly from behind her cup. Ryo snickered while Naruto tried to splutter a retort. The Konoha shinobi were just so cute sometimes.

"As lovely as lunch was," Taro interjected boredly, "What are we going to do now?" _We can't let Konoha get too involved. If Sasuke and I are caught…_ Itachi let the thought trail off. Ryo knew what he was going to say, but the immanent death of the Uchiha brothers was a minor concern at the moment.

"Hhmmm," Ryo mused as she leaned her chair back. What to do, what to do? They could wander aimlessly around the forest for a few days until hunger and frustration forced them back into the city. They could try and find the real Kakashi, who would probably be more useful than anyone else in Konoha. They could even wait until Sasori woke up and try to track him with her threads. But none of those plans were sure to give immediate results. Sasori needed to be found before the Followers of the Red Scorpion could molest him too badly.

"Ryo?" Naruto asked cautiously. Ryo snapped her head up, shaken from her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," she replied slowly. Why would she be anything less than okay? "Why?"

"The salt and pepper shakers were dancing," he replied, pointing at the novelty cow shaped condiment dispensers.

"Oops," the puppeteer sighed, straightening the shakers and placing them back on the counter. Ryo hadn't used puppetry unconsciously like that since she was… well, since Sasori took her in.

In that moment, two things hit Ryo like a punch from Sakura. First, she realized just how not okay she was. Sasori was HERS. He was in trouble, and there was nothing she could do to help him at the moment. Powerlessness was not a feeling any puppet master enjoyed, and Ryo liked it even less than most.

Secondly, the former puppet had another of her famous epiphanies. "I know how we're going to find Kakashi," she declared proudly, standing up and heading out the door in a single movement.

The others struggled to follow suit. "Why do we need Kakashi?" Naruto asked, jogging to keep up with Ryo. Now that she had a direction to head in, Ryo was pushing ahead at full power.

"He'll know where to find Sasori, and more importantly what we're up against," she answered shortly, glancing up and down the street. Not knowing where she was going and not having a thread to follow was going to make her search difficult, but if she could find HIM, than he could find Sasori.

Itachi, surprisingly, didn't know any more than the trio. "Then who is going to find Kakashi?" Taro demanded. _Ryo, you had better start explaining,_ he thought, but Ryo snapped the connection closed. They had better things to do than listen to Itachi's whiny empty threats.

"Shut up and keep up," was all she would say.

-  
When Sasori finally woke up, it was like his eyes had been glues shut and his mouth filled with cotton balls. _Fucking assassins or kidnappers or what ever the hell they are!_ he thought violently, struggling to sit upright. Then he stopped as he remembered his situation.

_Well shit. I've been kidnapped. By girls. Ryo will never let me live this down._

"Is he awake?" a female voice asked from somewhere. Sasori was still too groggy (an after-effect of the poison, he assumed) to figure out where he was and who was around.

There was the sound of a chair scraping and a pause before, "Yes Leiko," another woman, this one younger, replied. "I wanted to make sure he was really awake this time before sending for you and the Mistress."

A grunt came from the woman near the door. "I suppose," she agreed begrudgingly. "Now get out. I want you to go fetch Damara and Ebony and send them here. Then go to the temple for penance."

"Yes Leiko," the younger girl assented demurely. She was obviously used to taking orders. Sasori wondered briefly what penance she was being forced to do, and then he realized that it didn't really matter so long as he didn't have to do it. Escape was the goal.

Opening his eyes, Sasori found himself looking into the muddy brown eyes of a pale woman in a white dress and veil. _Great. More of these psychos._ She was looking him over like a horse up for sale; it was disturbing, and Sasori was not easily disturbed. Something was very wrong about this entire situation.

Finally, the woman nodded. "Master Aki," she said, dropping down to one knee to bow. "At last, you have come to us."

_This is not good. Very, very, not good.  
-_

_Reviews would be totally cool, just so I know people are still reading this. Love you all._


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